Through a Different Lens
by Lia06
Summary: Modernized Mansfield Park; Annie Price grew up in the Bertrams' house but her life was not a bed of roses. Now as an adult, she has to learn to fight for what she wants.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't own what you recognize. I am trying my hand at modernizing Mansfield Park. This story will be set in a fictional town called Mansfield Park, Michigan, which will be home to the Bertram family, a very wealthy family whose money goes back several generations. Annabel Price, the Fanny character, will be the Bertrams' goddaughter whom they raised for reasons that will be revealed through the plot of the story.

A large part of my inspiration for this story comes from the quotation "I think I've always been taking pictures-even before I had a camera" from the 1995 movie _Sabrina_.

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Title: Through a Different Lens**

**Author: Lia06**

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Prologue**

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Hugo**

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I haven't been back to my parents' house since I was thirty. This is entirely by choice. When I was thirty, my father and my twin brother, Nicholas, had a vicious argument over something that shouldn't have been a big deal. Unfortunately, Dad turned it into a big deal and successfully offended Nick and the girl he wanted to marry. Nick and Annabel walked out the door and never returned to 1814 Maple Crest Drive again. I followed them out shortly thereafter and never returned until my parents' lawyer contacted me to inform me that my mother had died and I had inherited the house on Maple Crest Drive in Mansfield Park, Michigan.

I'm sixty-five now and I never thought I'd see this house again. Once it was full of life. Children ran up and down its stairs. Even looking around the house, you can tell that it is filled with memories and that someone used to live here. But now it is an empty house filled with furniture. No one lives here. No children climb the slightly ironic oak tree in the front yard. No barefoot little girls have played in the tire swing dangling from the maple tree in the backyard.

Walking into the house was like walking into a flood of memories. I could almost see Maggie and Julia running up and down the stairs yelling at each other and spraying perfume in each other's faces. My mind flashed back to my childhood. My father was never home. My mother and her sister would be in the stuffy living room gossiping and acting more like characters in some silly BBC period drama than two suburban women who had married wealthy men who didn't mind silly wives. Nick would be either reading a book in the library or playing soccer in the backyard. Maggie and Julia were forever bickering in their disturbing and somewhat symbiotic relationship. And Annabel Price, the mouse that roared and unintentionally (and probably slightly unwillingly) crushed whatever sense of family had ever existed in the dysfunctional Bertram family, would have been either reading a book while sitting on the tire-swing or up in her attic bedroom reading a book that carried her far away from our family.

But in the present, the library was coated with dust, the tire swing looked old and pathetic, and there were no relationships dancing around the Bertram house. So I called Nick and suggested that he and Annie come over to the house to help me figure out what to do with the old monstrosity.

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* * *

Nick**

Until Hugo called me and told me to come to the old Maple Crest Drive house, I hadn't even really thought about the old place in almost thirty years. I had walked out of the house the day that my father told me I couldn't marry Annie and hadn't returned since. I was sorry about how I'd left things with my father, but I also knew that if he couldn't accept my wife, then I couldn't accept him.

Walking into the house assaulted my senses. My mother had not been keeping the house in good repair, a fact that saddened but did not surprise me. My father had been dead for fifteen years and after his death, my mother had probably let things slide. That was her way; she never was the type to run things on her own. If she had any help it either came from Aunt Marge or Julia.

Annie flinched as she looked around. "So many memories," she whispered. "It's hard to believe that I used to live here."

I nodded. My hair had long been silver but in front of me hung a picture of myself when my hair had still been dark brown. Looking at the picture of my twenty-five year old self, I found myself touching my hair self-consciously. Annie laughed and swatted my hand away from my hair with a maternal air that I had long come to consider as part of her personality. "I still think you're handsome."

I kissed her cheek. Contrary to what the young may believe, romance can still exist even after thirty years of marriage. "It's just weird to think that that person lived in this house. And I'm a little surprised that my parents still had pictures of me on their walls even after my explosion."

"You are their son. They still loved you. But I highly doubt that they have pictures of me anywhere in this house. I'm probably listed in the family history as the person who destroyed their family."

"After more than thirty years of marriage and four children, you still say that," I said sadly. "And I still disagree with you. I think that we've built a new family out of love rather than blood. And it is a family that I very much love."

She smiled as we walked into the library where Hugo was standing looking over the shelves. "Do you think that Mom had any idea of the value of everything in this room?" he asked as he took a book off the shelf and blew on it.

"It seems unlikely," Annie replied as she picked up a frame from my father's desk. It was a photograph of Hugo and me that Annie had taken when she was about twenty-two and we were twenty-eight. "She could have sold this for a lot of money."

My brother took it from her hands. "An original Annie Price, these go for thousands of dollars now."

Annie laughed. "I know. I am Annie Price-Bertram. I know how much money I earn."

Hugo and I both smiled. I looked at the faces in the picture and my mind drifted back to the way things were when 1814 Maple Crest Drive was a home and not simply a house.

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A/N: Please review! Chapter one will be coming soon.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I don't own what I recognize. I do, however, love and appreciate reviewers. They make me very happy.

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I was eleven when I moved in with the Bertram family at 1814 Maple Crest Drive. This may not seem important to some people but it changed my life. Before that, I had been living with my mother and siblings. Other than my older brother, they were all half-siblings, but they were family. Thomas and Maria were just my godparents and I ended up living with them because when my mother passed away, there was nowhere else for me to go. No one could find my father-and trust me; Thomas Bertram had tried. Being ridiculously wealthy (Read: Owner of a Fortune 500 company) meant that he had all sort so resources at his fingertips, but even he couldn't find someone who just plain did not want to be found.

So I went to live with the Bertrams. I don't think they wanted me and I didn't want to go. Liam was going to live with his godparents and our four younger sisters were going to their three different biological fathers.

My first day with the Bertrams left me terrified of Mr. Bertram. H. Thomas Bertram IV was a wealthy, powerful man with an imposing stare. His glance alone left me shaking in my too-big tennis shoes that were Liam's hand-me-downs. Yes, I wore my older brother's shoes; my mom had no time/money/energy (the excuse depended on the day) to buy me new shoes. So I wore Liam's old ones. Mrs. Bertram told me that this would soon be rectified and I would have my own shoes and clothes.

In the meantime, there were hand-me-downs from her daughters waiting for me in my bedroom. My new bedroom was a large attic room, which l loved even though it was cold in the winter and hot in the summer. It was mine. For the first time in my life, I didn't have to share it with anyone and that was an unknown luxury for me. I'd always shared with Cassie, Gina, Maura, and Brenna. But this was my own room; I loved it.

As I grew older and developed more of my artistic talents, I grew to value the room more and more. It was a great art studio. It had amazing lighting and it was quiet and peaceful. I loved sitting on my bed or in the window seat with my sketchbook for hours on end. Mrs. Norris, Mrs. Bertram's sister who lived with them, said that I was annoying because I was always hiding from people when I should have been helping them. I wanted to help people but I also wanted to be a better artist.

"But you have to help out around the family," she had told me. "You're a guest here and you have to earn your keep."

I was thirteen; there are child labor laws. And I had been legally adopted by a wealthy family; I think they could afford to take care of me without forcing me to wash dishes for them or steam-clean the carpet every Saturday. Okay, so I was a part of the Bertram family in the same way that Jeeves was part of Wooster's family or something like that. They sent me to public schools (albeit very good public schools) instead of the elite (and expensive public schools to which they sent their biological children.

* * *

I was definitely the family secret-keeper. I've never been very talkative and I was ridiculously quiet after I came to live with the Bertrams. I was intimidated by them and I felt uncomfortable there, so I didn't talk much. Somehow this meant that whenever everyone wanted to talk, they came to me. I knew every damn detail of Julia's and Maggie's pathetic high school drama. They always wanted each other's boyfriends. They wanted each other's clothes. As I told Hugo one day when he was hiding from his parents in my room, "Sometimes I think they want to be each other. Neither one of them is happy being herself. They both want what the other one has because they think it'll make them happy."

I was fourteen and he was twenty. He was playing with the camera he'd given me for my birthday and I wasn't entirely sure that he was listening to me. That was the thing about Hugo Thomas Bertram V; he liked to hang out with me, but I wasn't always sure why he was there (since he was six years older than me) or if he was listening to me.

"And what are you doing anyway?" I asked. He was standing by the window taking pictures.

"I'm spying at Maggie," he replied as if this was the most natural thing ever. "She's got some guy with her down by the pool."

"Oh, please," I sighed, flopping on my bed. "She's always got some new guy out there. She lounges around in her bikini and he gazes at her adoringly."

"God, Annie, bitter much?" he replied without looking at me.

"It's pathetic. She convinces these guys that they're The One, that this relationship will last forever and then it's all over in less than six weeks. The pattern never changes. If it ever changed, then it might be interesting and then I might care. But I know that inevitably she'll break up with this week's Prince Charming and then we'll all have to listen to her bemoaning her singlehood until she meets a new guy in like two minutes."

"Would you feel better if you made out with me?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no, you're six years older than me and I love you like a brother."

"What about Nick, would you rather make out with my charming twin brother?" he asked with a wink. Hugo seemed to think that winking at people would get him through life; the sad thing was that it worked on most people. I was immune to his charms, but most people weren't.

I blushed. "Leave me alone; I'm not going to fall for your wink-and-a-smile baloney. Julia lusts after Justin Timberlake. Maggie's dream guy is Johnny Depp."

"And you want to marry my string-bean of a twin brother." Hugo was generally considered the better looking of the Bertram twins. While Nick was tall and skinny, Hugo was tall and well-built. They both had dark brown eyes and dark brown hair, but they were built very differently. Hugo looked more like their mom while Nick resembled their dad more.

"Stop it. You know he couldn't care less if I were dead or alive."

"That's not true, Annie, and we both know it. But he doesn't see you like that. To him, you're just a kid. Don't worry. He could still come around. But hopefully you'll have finished college by then."

I laughed in the way that a fourteen-year-old girl who really just want to marry the twenty-year-old boy who lives down the hall from them do. It was pathetic and fake and needy; I hated laughing like that. I didn't want to like Nick so much. I didn't want to think that his dark brown eyes were beautiful or that his smile was so adorable. I wanted to drive him from my mind-at least until I was old enough for him to actually think about me as anything more than a pseudo-little sister.

* * *

When I turned sixteen, Hugo gave me a car for my birthday. Nick had taught me how to drive, but my new car was a stick shift. I couldn't drive one of those; he only taught me on an automatic transmission because his car was one. It wasn't a sports car, thank God, but it was a stick. And I could not drive it. "I didn't realize you didn't know. I just figured that St. Nicholas had taught you," he said in his frank "I'm almost as hot as Brad Pitt and I can get whatever I want" manner.

I shrugged. "It's okay. I can learn."

"But I don't have time to teach you. Shoot; maybe St. Nick can do it."

I rolled my eyes. "Can you please stop mocking me? So your brother likes to do nice things for me while you just try to buy my affections. So let's move on and just focus on the fact that you bought me a car but I have no clue how to drive it."

"I'll teach you, Annie," Nick said, coming into the living room. "Unlike some people, I'm not an egotistical jerk who would never buy my little sister some fancy-pants car that she can't drive and then not teach her how to drive it."

"But you didn't give her a car," Hugo replied.

"That would be because unlike you, I have a job and am not mooching off the parental units."

"Yes, and you are also lame. And boring, you're ridiculously boring. Could you have picked a more boring job than being a librarian? Why couldn't you just be an insurance actuary and called it game over?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "You, my friend, are pathetic."

"Says the male reference librarian who is getting a master's degree in library crap," Hugo replied. "If you want to talk about being pathetic, go look in the mirror."

"Can you two please cut it out?" I asked. "It is my birthday after all."

"Only for you, princess," Hugo replied. He had been calling me "princess" lately because everyone always treated Maggie and Julia like princesses and he wanted me to feel like I was special too. I told him that this was lame but he didn't care.

"Sorry, Annie," Nick said. "Hey, are my parents doing anything for your birthday tonight?"

I laughed. "For me, heck no, I doubt that they even remember that today is my birthday."

"Then I'm taking you out tonight. We'll go to Red Lobster."

"Can you afford that?"

He shrugged. "I know you really like their biscuits."

"We don't have to go there. If you can't afford it, we can just go to Applebee's."

Nick sighed. "Annie, it's a gift. It's my treat. Don't worry about it. I didn't blow all my money buying you a car. It's your birthday; let us spoil you a little."

"Yeah, no one will tell Aunt Marge you're being selfish," Hugo said. "We promise."

I blushed. "Okay, Red Lobster it is then."

* * *

For as long as I had known them, Hugo and Nick had never been close. Supposedly, they had been very close when they were very young, but around third grade, that all dissolved and they developed different interests. Nick was The Good Son, and later The Perfect Child, while Hugo was The Bad Boy. When they were in high school, Hugo was the guy that every girl lusted after and Nick was the guy who cleaned up the pieces after Hugo broke a girl's heart.

But for me, it was the other way around. Nick kept breaking my heart and Hugo kept cleaning me up and taking care of me. At some point, I probably should have realized how dumb all of this was, but it kept going. I graduated from high school still obsessed with Nick. (I called it love; Hugo called it obsession and then started mumbling about semantics.) Then, I moved away to college. According to Hugo, the three-hour drive between Hope College and Nick/Mansfield Park was the best thing that ever happened to me. I had four years far away from Nick. Thank you, full-ride academic scholarship; I appreciated it. I dated a couple of guys in college, but I kept measuring all of them against Nick. No one could ever live up to Nick. People told me this was pathetic but I protested that he was a great guy and it was I would never be truly worth of him.

My roommate at Hope, Mollie, told me that was pathetic. "He's just a guy. And he isn't even that attractive. I mean, he's good looking but he's nothing fantastic. That other brother is way more attractive."

"Hugo is good-looking but Nick is cooler. He's a bookworm and he's sweeter."

"And he keeps breaking your heart." We were college seniors at this point and I would be going back to Mansfield Park after graduation. I had a job lined up teaching art a K-8 private school.

"He doesn't mean to do it, Mollie. He's just six years older than me. He just thinks of me like a little sister."

"Okay but let's be honest here. Unfortunately, that's probably all you'll ever be to him. You've had a crush on him for years and he's never shown any interest in you."

"Yeah, but maybe now that I'm an adult he'll see things differently."

Mollie rolled her eyes. "Honey, Cooper Myers is interested in you. Go after someone like him. He's gorgeous and nice."

"And he isn't Nick."

"I'm not entirely convinced that that's a bad thing," she said before sticking a huge spoonful of Cherry Garcia into her mouth.

I sighed. "You can't understand. You've never met him. If you met him, you'd get it."

"Doubtful," Mollie replied flatly. She'd been dating Chad, her boyfriend, since high school. They were perfect for each other but their relationship was so different from mine with Nick. She'd always known how Chad felt about her. And they were the same age. It was all so different from Nick and me. We were destined for each other; he just didn't know it yet.

* * *

Nick and Hugo came with their parents to my college graduation. Marge Norris sent me a card suggesting that now I could pay back all of the favors Uncle Tom and Aunt Elizabeth had done for me over the years. I laughed; I had lived on other people's hand-me-downs. I had gone to a public high school and received an academic scholarship for college. I had worked an after-school job in high school and then had a job in college. I was still driving the car that Hugo gave me; it was only six years old and I was content. Nick had done a great job of teaching me to drive a stick shift.

My plans after graduation were to move back to Mansfield Park and find an apartment. Until I found my own place, I was going to live with Hugo who had finally moved out of his parents' house two years earlier at age twenty-six. I had a summer job as "receptionist/second camera" for Lauren Cassidy. Lauren was a friend of mine from high school who had been two years ahead of me. She was a professional photographer with a booming business. She did newborn shoots, senior pictures, engagement photos, weddings, and anything else you could want. She was busy and she needed someone to help her. I had plenty of experience with photography and a really nice camera-a birthday present from Hugo for my twentieth birthday. He gave it to me after he found out that I had taken several photography classes at Hope and I was falling in love with photography. Sketching and drawing were still my favorite mediums of art and would serve me best for my future career as an art teacher. But photography, that could be a nice side job.

"Annabel, darling, you could come live with your uncle and me," Aunt Elizabeth told me over lunch. "We would love to have you. And I'm sure Marge would be glad to have you around too. You could keep me company."

"I'll be working all day," I told her. "I won't be able to keep you company very much."

"But we would love to have you. We miss having you around the house. Don't we, Tom?"

Uncle Tom, a tall, balding man, grunted and nodded. His wife took this as assent; I took it as an attempt to swallow his salad without being distracted by his wife's prattling.

"Tom is away on business trips a lot these days," Aunt Elizabeth continued. "He's working on opening a plant in Mexico. I don't see very much of him and I would love to have you for company, Annabel dear."

She neglected to mention something that I already knew; her sister, Marge Norris, was already living with her. And so were Maggie and Julia. She had plenty of company; Hugo only had a cat for company. I like cats, so I preferred the idea of living with Hugo.

* * *

Hugo's apartment was on the seventh floor of a seven-story building his father owned in downtown Mansfield. In fact, it was the seventh floor. It was modern and spacious and sterile. In a world, it was Hugo. As an artist, I craved colored cushion and scenic visits and paintings by the masters. But the couch was gray with beige cushions and black and white photos of nothing adored the walls. When I complained to Hugo about it, he shrugged. "We could go to Ikea and get some junk if you want. I don't really care."

"I don't want you to spend your money if you don't want to," I began.

He laughed, cutting me off. "My money, Annie-belle, love, it's not my money at all. It's all old Pop's dinero. Don't worry about it."

He meant to set my mind at ease but he hadn't. If there was one thing I didn't want to do, it was spend the Bertrams' money. I was determined to never owe them one cent; Mrs. Norris's guilt trips had been far more effective than she knew.

So I resigned myself to sterility beyond my bedroom, which was decorated with my dorm leftovers. But the apartment had one gem that I loved-the cushioned window-seat in the northeast corner of the living room. It overlooked the intersection of Main Street and Eighth Avenue-the heart of Mansfield Park. It was a great place to sit and drink my morning coffee or sit and sketch at the end of the day. Hugo was always up late into the night and never got up until after I left for work. Mornings were my time. Well, they were my time with the cat. Bellatrix and I would sit together and take in the view while I woke up.

I knew that once I started teaching in the fall, I wouldn't have the luxury of that hour with the cat. Instead, I would have to drink my coffee in the car. But for now, these were my time.

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A/N: Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I don't own what you recognize.

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"You have to go out for dinner with me," Nick told me.

"Or you could come over here and I'll make you dinner," I replied. I was sitting on the kitchen counter while talking to him on the phone and eating fruit snacks.

"And then I'll run into Hugo and that will all go over like a flying tombstone."

"Dude, your brother is almost never here unless he's sleeping. Tonight, he's going to your parents' house for dinner and then to someone's birthday party and he won't be home until two."

"He's leaving you home alone?" Nick sounded incredulous.

"Yes, I am an adult after all," I replied.

"And what are you going to do all by yourself?"

"Eat ice cream out of the carton while watching _The Holiday_," I said.

He snorted. "You're pathetic."

"You seem obsessed with that word."

"Can't you at least watch _Sabrina_ or something witty like that?"

I laughed. "Nope, I'm in the mood for Jude Law."

"You are definitely spending too much time around my brother if you want to watch a Jude Law movie."

"What makes you think that?"

"Hugo is just like Jude Law."

"You're ridiculous," I told him as I hopped off the counter. "Now, I need to find some comfy pajamas and the right spoon for my ice cream."

"Save me some," Hugo said as he walked into the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes. "You won't be home until two or three. Why do you care about the ice cream?"

"I like a good Chubby Hubby post-coital."

I slapped him. "Please do not tell me about your sex life."

"I don't have a sex life," Nick protested.

"I was talking to your moron of a twin brother."

"I'm not a moron."

I flicked Hugo between the eyes. "Right now, Hugo is being a twit."

"Shocker," Nick replied.

"Annie, you're being ridiculous."

I laughed. "I was talking to your charming brother when you came in and started talking about your sex life."

"Hey, I was just trying to protect my Chubby Hubby."

"Watch it or you'll turn into a chubby hubby someday," I replied, slapping his flat abdomen.

He laughed and kissed my cheek. "Annie, ma cherie, just don't eat it."

"We don't even have any in the freezer right now. You ate the last of it the night that you had Blair over here."

"Which one was Blair?" he asked.

Nick laughed. "Tell my darling brother to watch out or people will call him a man slut."

"I highly doubt that your brother would care about that. I doubt that he cares what other people about him."

"Just as long as the ladies love me," Hugo replied. "I'll see you later, munchkin. Tell my brother I said au revoir."

"See you," I replied as he left.

"So Hugo left?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, he's off to your parents and then a birthday party for someone. I can't remember who."

"Is it Sam Laird?"

"Who's that?" I asked. "The name sounds vaguely familiar but I couldn't really tell you why."

"Maggie's boyfriend," he replied.

"Is this like Flavor of the Week boyfriend or something more serious?"

"No one knows yet," Nick said flatly. His voice betrayed ambivalence and annoyance. "He's pretty typical of her boy-toys. He could totally be an Abercrombie model, but he's as boring as beige walls."

"You've met him?"

"She's brought him to dinner at the parents' a couple of times when I've been there."

"Got it," I said with a smile. Maggie and Julia had rules about serious they had to be with a guy before they would bring him to meet their parents.

"He looks good on paper," Nick explained. "His dad owns some company that Tom's company does business with. It's an ideal marriage."

"You make it sound like you guys live in _Sabrina_ or something like that."

"I get to be Harrison Ford if we do."

I laughed. "I wanted to be Audrey Hepburn, so now we're at a crossroads."

"I guess I'll just have to come over for a movie night some time and we'll watch both movies back to back."

"I'd love that." I knew that I was throwing myself at him. I knew it but I couldn't help it. I just wanted to spend time with him, to be with him.

"Fantastic," he replied. "I'm not sure when I'm free but I'm sure we can figure something out soon. Text me next week and remind me. In the meanwhile, I need to get going, kiddo. I have some research that needs some looking over."

"I'll talk to you later."

"Sounds great," he replied before hanging up.

* * *

"He's not in love with me," I moaned to Mollie over the phone a few days later.

"Well that's nothing new," she replied flatly. "I've told you to get over him before."

"It's not that easy, Mols."

"I know it's not, but you've had a crush on him for like ten years. At some point you have to move on."

I sighed. "You sound like Hugo."

"He sounds like a smart guy."

"Have you met Hugo?" I asked. "Smart isn't the first word that I would use to describe him."

"You never let me meet him. But I've seen pictures. He's hot."

I laughed. "Why do girls always say that about him? I think Nick's more attractive."

"You're weird. We already established that."

"You need to come visit me now, Mols. I miss you."

"Only if I can bring Chad with me," she replied.

"I like Chad. He's a good guy."

"Okay, we'll come visit some weekend."

"Are you two going to get engaged any time soon?"

"Ask him yourself. I've been dropping hints for at least a week that I'd like to get married."

"A week?" I said. "Good golly, Molly, it takes longer than that to get all that stuff straightened out."

"We've been together since high school. Can't he just get the proposal over with?" I want to get married." Molly's highest ambition in life was to be a wife and mother. I could appreciate that, but I wanted to do something with my life-especially because I was twenty-two and single with no hope of that status changing in the near future.

I laughed. "Just be patient, Mol. He will propose; I know it."

"He'd better," she grumbled. "I'm sick of being single."

"You're not single, Mollie. You have a boyfriend; you're just not married."

"I can still catch the bouquet at a wedding."

I sighed. "Just get married and then throw me the bouquet."

* * *

"I'm going out of town for a week," Hugo told me a few nights later while we were washing dishes after eating dinner together. "So if you want to have Nick over for dinner while I'm gone, he can come without fear of seeing the Big Bad Wolf."

I smiled. "I'll let him know."

"My brother is an idiot. I'd gladly spend time with him but he's afraid of me or something like that."

"He's not afraid of you. He just doesn't like you."

Hugo rolled his eyes. "Here's the thing. Nick is jealous of me. I am supremely awesome and he is not. He wants to be supremely awesome and therefore is jealous of my supreme awesomeness."

I laughed. "I'm not even sure I understand what you're saying."

He grinned. "Aren't I great at that? Dad says I should go to law school because I'm so good at pulling the wool over people's eyes."

"I thought that was why you had a bachelor's degree in public relations."

This remark elicited another one of his trademark grins. "I knew you loved me."

"Well, you give pretty great foot rubs."

He flicked me with a towel and hit my butt. "Admit it, Price. You want me. You think that I am a sex god but you fear rejection, so you've pinned your hopes on my brother the Pre-Raphaelite, using his personal ideologies to protect yourself from the broken heart that would inevitably stem from any sort of relationship with me."

"Why do you think that your brother is a Pre-Raphaelite? He isn't an artist."

"Wait, Pre-Raphaelites are artists? I thought they were penguins."

"That makes no sense whatsoever."

Hugo laughed. "I told you. I'm full of it."

"Obviously," I replied. "So where are you going?"

"London, it's a business trip."

"I thought Mexico was the big project for your dad right now."

"It is, and he's going to Guadalajara next week. But I'm going to London to meet with some investors. I'm good at impressing people."

"Impressive," I replied.

"You suck."

I smiled. "And yet you still love me. I always knew I was cute."

He pulled one of my braids and winked at me. "Just stay out of trouble while I'm gone, kiddo. And don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Well that pretty much leaves me the whole wide world."

"You suck," Hugo said.

"You need a new line. You already told me that I sucked. And since it was less than five minutes ago, your two accusations have nullified each other. So, I don't suck at all."

* * *

"And your brother will be gone all week, so you should come over for a _Sabrina_ movie night with dinner sometime soon," I told Nick. I was sitting on my bed painting my toenails yellow and watching _Psych_.

"I think you're lying to me."

"Why would I lie to you?"

"You like happy family reunions," he said with a sigh.

I laughed. "I like them in movies. But I know that your family is dysfunctional and I'm not trying to force you and Hugo to go all _Brady Bunch_ and become best friends. I just want you to come over and hang out with me. I thought we were friends after all."

He sighed. "But how do I know that Hugo is really in London?"

"Ask your dad, moron."

"I'm not coming over there until I do that."

Now it was my turn to sigh. "Then do it. And if he says it's like I say it is, then come over on Wednesday."

"I'd prefer Friday."

"No can do," I replied. "I have to photograph a wedding on Friday."

"Who the heck gets married on a Friday?"

"Are you serious? I want to get married on a Friday evening. It's way cheaper than a Saturday."

Nick sighed. "You worry about money too much."

I laughed. "That's a matter of opinion. Plus, I would like to have my wedding pictures taken at sunset. I think that sounds really romantic."

"And I bet you want to get married on a beach too."

"Nah, I'd like to get married in a garden."

"I thought you were allergic to all things green."

"I take Claritin."

Nick laughed. "You're a romantic at heart, Annie. That's why you love _Sabrina_ so much."

"That's why I love _27 Dresses _so much," I replied bitterly. "I like happy endings. I don't have many in my life, so I like seeing them in movies."

"You'll get your happy ending someday. Someday, you'll get your own Harrison Ford."

I smiled. "I'd rather have my own James Marsden, but thanks for the offer."

"I thought you wanted to marry the guy from _The Tudors_."

"Jonathan Rhys-Myers?" I asked. "I'd rather die."

"No, wasn't there one who you thought was really hot?"

"Dude, I've never even talked about _The Tudors_ with you," I replied.

"Oh, crud, I was thinking about Julia. She was raving about the sexy duke of something. Or maybe he was an Earl; I don't remember."

I sighed. "Try listening to your sister. She might appreciate it."

"She doesn't notice."

"Even Hugo knows better than to say that about Julia."

"Julia is just a mini-Maggie," Nick sighed.

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see me. I had to express my frustration somehow. "I think we're never going to see eye-to-eye about this one. But for future reference, you won't be able to say I didn't warn you when I'm proved right about this one."

"That doesn't mean you can keep saying I told you so IF you are ever proved right."

I laughed. "When have I ever done that? You must be mistaking me for your brother."

"Fine, I'll come over on Wednesday."

"Perfect, I'll make fettuccine alfredo." That is his favorite dish.

"With chicken, don't forget the chicken." Okay, it has to have the chicken otherwise he acts like a thirteen-year-old girl who just found out that Justin Bieber is dead. (Bieber isn't dead; it's just a really great analogy.)

"I won't forget the chicken. Have I ever forgotten it before?"

"No, but there is a first time for everything."

I sighed. "Just be here at six and bring a bottle of white wine, please."

* * *

A/N: Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Please review! I don't own what you recognize.

**Nick**

* * *

I feel like I deserve the opportunity to tell my side of the story. I know that Annie makes a lot of good, valid points, but I'd also like a chance to defend myself before the whole world thinks I'm an asshole-or at least, that I used to be an asshole. But maybe I was a jerk. Maybe, I'm a recovering jerk.

Hugo and I weren't close when we were younger. I'd like to say that there is some sane, rational reason behind this but there isn't. We grew apart when we were kids. We just don't get along well because we're incredibly different people. He would tell you that I'm an ostrich with my head in the sand but I beg to differ. I may not have seen or understood all that he did, but I'm not as dumb as he would like to think that I am. My brother is a good person, but he is a complicated person. Like a fine wine, he has improved with age and we have grown closer since we distanced ourselves from our parents.

* * *

But when we were in our twenties, this was all much more difficult. I resented him. And Annie was living with him. My best friend was living with my brother. For some people, that would be cool. For me, it sucked. For one thing, I felt like Annie and Hugo were getting to be really good friends. And for another, I felt like I couldn't hang out with her whenever I wanted because I didn't want to go over there when Hugo was there.

* * *

The night we watched _Sabrina_ was fun and relaxing. It was summer, which meant that Annie was just doing the photography gig; she hadn't started teaching yet. I'm not entirely sold on the photography thing. She could be and do so much with her life. She's really smart and a ridiculously talented artist. But all she wants to do is teach kids how to paint and draw and then on weekends, she'll take pictures of other people's weddings.

"You could have gone to art school," I told her while she was making dinner and I was drinking a glass of sparkling wine.

"I studied art at Hope," she replied. "That was good enough for me. And now I can teach kids how to be artists. I don't need fancy art schools. What would I do with a degree from one of those places?"

"You could paint, like Monet."

"So I could be a starving artist or depend upon some sort of patron?"

"My family is loaded. They could support you."

She laughed. "I have spent too much of my life depending on your family. I need to make my own way in the world."

"But you don't have to teach."

"No," she replied, tossing her brown ponytail. "I don't have to. But I want to."

"Annie, I know that you think you have to take care of yourself all the time, but you don't. Let someone else take care of you."

She snorted. "Who is going to take care of me? Your family has helped but they've also make me feel guilty about it every step of the way. I don't have people who will catch me if I fall."

"You have me."

"You judge my every move, Nick. You're doing it right now."

I sighed. "I want you to be happy!"

"I am happy," she replied simply. "Now, let's talk about something else."

I looked at her speechless for a few seconds. She was stirring the chicken chili on the stove and not looking at me. She was bizarrely sensational in shorts and a gray tank top with her hair in a ponytail. It shouldn't have been attractive and it wasn't meant to be, but it was.

"We have new neighbors!" I said suddenly. The remark was louder than it should have been given that there were only two of us and we were in a small kitchen.

Annie blinked. "We? Do your parents have new neighbors?"

"Oh, no, sorry, I have new neighbors at the condo complex."

She nodded and looked back at the chili. "Are they interesting?"

"It's a guy and a girl."

"Oh a couple," she said softly without looking at me.

I shook my head. "No, it's a brother and sister. Their names are Daisy and Jay."

"Oh, so their parents are Fitzgerald fans?"

I laughed. "You're the only one who gets that! I said that the first time that I met them and they both just looked at me like I'm crazy."

"Are you serious? It's like how people don't get that Heath Ledger and his sister were named after Wuthering Heights," she said, enthusiastically. She was finally looking at me and her blue eyes were bright with joy and energy.

I laughed. "Exactly, and that's totally wrong. Why the heck would you name your kids after star-crossed lovers? I don't care if you love the book. There has to be a rule someplace that says things like 'Don't name your kids Romeo and Juliet.'"

"I know. I don't get people sometimes. But they're still really cool people."

"If you like them, then I'm sure they're good people." She didn't really sound interested, but I didn't know what else to talk to her about.

"Daisy is really pretty. In fact, she reminds me of Daisy Buchanan in a lot of ways."

"Oh, does she float down from the heavens and only come to rest when you close the French doors?"

I laughed even though that remark eked of bitterness. Annie didn't like The Great Gatsby nearly as much as I did. She thought that Daisy was entirely too romanticized. Back then, I liked Daisy. I thought she gave Jay Gatsby something to do and a reason to live.

"Liam is coming to visit around Christmas," she announced suddenly.

"That's exciting."

"Yeah, I'll finally get to spend Christmas with family," she replied. "I haven't gotten to do that since my mom died."

We don't talk much about the fact that her mom died when she was a kid, so I didn't really know how to approach the subject. I'm not comfortable with death. My family doesn't really talk about uncomfortable subjects. We're very bread-and-butter people.

I went with a safe question instead. "Are you going to spend Thanksgiving with my family?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. Mollie hinted that her parents will probably want me to come out to Holland that weekend."

"But you haven't spent Thanksgiving with my family in eons."

"Not since my freshman year," she replied casually. "But I like hanging out with the Vanderhydes."

"And I like hanging out with you."

"You see me all the time. I don't see Mollie or her family very much."

"Is dinner ready yet?"

"How often are you going to change the subject tonight?"

"I just don't like arguing."

"I don't like it either, but it is part of life."

I laughed. "Annie, you're not like other people. You're different somehow."

"I think I'm cute."

* * *

We watched the movie. It was relaxing, but it was also a little unnerving. I see a lot of Annie's personality reflected in the character of Sabrina Fairchild and that makes me a little nervous about her. Did that make Hugo and me the Larrabee brothers? I was her friend and neither Linus nor David was really and truly Sabrina's friend. She loved one and feared the other, but when push came to shove, she saw both of them in a different light. Annie would never fall for me and I could never love her. She was merely a dear, dear younger sister to me, but sister and friend was all that I could ever see coming to us.

* * *

I spent the following evening with Daisy Crawford. She was sunny and cheerful and she might as well have floated down from the clouds into my life. Daisy bubbled with enthusiasm. "I don't have a job," she informed me. "I don't need a job. I could get one if I wanted, but I don't need a job. My uncle takes care of me."

"Oh, so what do you do?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Oh, I do whatever I like. Today, I went to the gym and then I had lunch with a friend. Oh, and then I read a book."

"What book did you read?"

"Chasing Harry Winston," she replied. "It's kind of a cool book. Have you ever heard of it?"

"I've seen it in the library." I've checked it out for far too many female customers in my life. I don't like chick lit as a genre and I disagree with the idea that "anything that gets people reading is worthwhile."

"Oh, do you go to the library much? I was thinking about getting a library card."

I laughed. "No, I work there."

"You _work_ in a _library_?" she asked, accenting the second syllable of library. "Why would you do that?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I like it. I love books and it's the perfect job for a bibliophile."

"Wait, are you gay?"

"Why do people always ask them that?"

"Well, what does that big word mean?" she asked with a casual toss of her blonde hair.

I sighed. "It means that I love books."

Her face lit up. "Oh, okay, I get it now. Sorry, I was never very good at vocabulary in school."

"What were you good at?" I asked.

"Chemistry and drama," she replied with a subtle wink that reminded me of Daisy Buchanan yet again.

I smiled. "My sisters were good at drama. I was decent at chemistry. And I'm not sure what Hugo was good at. Hugo was good at getting people to do what he wanted."

"Oh, my brother's like that too. Everyone loves Jay. They can't help it. They're just drawn to him it's kind of pathetic actually."

"That's what Hugo is like. People automatically love him. I'm actually kind of jealous."

She reached out and swept my hair off my forehead. "Oh, Nicky, you're adorable. I could love you until the day I die."

I laughed. "That's what Annie always says. She says that I'm loveable like a puppy while Hugo is loveable like a lion or a live electric wire."

"Who is Annie?"

"She's the daughter of my mom's best friend from childhood. I think she's my mom's goddaughter, but I'm not exactly sure on that. All I really know is that about ten or twelve years ago, her mom died and she came to live with us because it was either us or foster care. My mom isn't much on sentimentality but she didn't want to see her friend's kid end up in foster care. So Annie came to live with us and her siblings went somewhere else."

"Wow, I think that would make a great movie on Lifetime."

I shrugged. "She's an amazing person. She's an artist."

"Oh, I love artists. What kind of art does she do?" Daisy was smoking now.

"Painting primarily, she loves to paint and sketch. And she's a photographer too. She works for someone who does wedding pictures or something on weekends."

She nodded and casually blew smoke. "I'm not sure I think photography is an art. I mean anyone can buy a camera at Wal-Mart and take a few pictures."

"You should see her work. She really is an artist."

She shrugged and tapped her cigarette against the edge of the table causing ashes to fall to the ground. "You'll have to show me some time."

I smiled. "I'd love to."

Daisy leaned back and smiled. "So what are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Working," I replied. "I work one night shift a week and tomorrow night is mine."

"It's Friday."

"And yet the library remains open on Friday nights, so someone has to work there. I work six Friday nights every year and this is one of them."

"Fine, Saturday, we can go out for drinks or something."

"I'd like that."

* * *

"You have to meet her," I told Annabel on Sunday as we were making brunch. "She's adorable. She's radiant."

She scoffed and picked up the bag of coffee grounds. "Oh, bloody hell, I hate radiant women. They photograph beautifully but they never develop well."

"You, my dear friend, are a horrible cynic."

Annie shrugged and replied, "Maybe, did you know that I bought this bag of coffee because I like the aesthetic appeal of the package?"

I took the teal bag from her hands. "You bought it for the graphic design? You're such an artist."

She smiled. "And I'm proud of it. I buy lots of things for the graphic design."

"Wine bottles, coffee, anything you see in a Target commercial," I teased.

"Hey, I love those commercials. Target has brilliant advertising."

I shook my head. "Like I said, you're an artist."

"Okay, tell me about your radiant girl."

"We've gone on two dates."

"How positively spiffing," she replied. "Now help me put the food on the table."

I did as she commanded and we were settled in the dining room soon. I looked Annie across the table. She was worlds away from Daisy. She wasn't radiant and she didn't look like she'd just floated down on gossamer wings. In place of Daisy's fitted clothes that reminded me of her daily gym visits, Annie was wearing shorts that revealed her pale, skinny legs and a red and blue flannel shirt that probably belonged to Hugo. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was wearing her glasses.

I shook my head and smiled.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You never dress up for me."

"You're the one who wanted me to be awake at eleven in the morning on a Sunday. This is as good as it gets before one."

"What if I was a guy you liked?"

She shrugged. "You're not, so don't worry about it."

In retrospect, I know that this was a lie, but it was a lie that she felt was necessary. And given my state of swooning over Daisy, I deserved it. If my descriptions of Daisy seem to make her seem unintelligent, it is not because I thought she was back in June of 2010. Then, I truly believed her to be wonderful and radiant. But I learned, with time, that Annie was right. Radiant women photograph beautifully but they never develop well.

* * *

A/N: Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I do not own what you recognize. I do, however, appreciate reviews. They motivate me to keep writing. And I'm really sorry that's taken me this long to update.

* * *

The rest of the summer flew by. I worked every weekend and hung out with Hugo more than I expected-and more than Nick thought rational. I, however, loved spending time with Hugo. He was a better friend Nick, who had become Daisy Crawford's most devoted and humble servant. I finally met Daisy in late July and decided that while she was very nice and sweet, she was also not my cup of tea.

Daisy was warm and friendly-too warm and friendly in my opinion. Hugo told me, "I'd sleep with her, but I'd never marry her."

"Who would you marry?" I asked him. "I never really saw you as the marrying type."

He shrugged. "I do plan on growing up and getting married someday."

"Okay, but like I asked before, who would you marry? Like, what kind of girl would you marry?"

This elicited another casual shrug. "Someone like you, I guess. I need to marry a responsible woman."

I laughed. "I wouldn't marry you. I know you too damn well."

Hugo smiled. "That's too bad. But you have seen all of my bad habits. Maybe I'll just hire you to find me a wife."

"You want me to be your matchmaker?"

"Yeah, find me a girl who is like you and will be ready to get married in about ten years. And she needs to be more mature than Daisy Crawford."

I laughed. We had met Daisy and her brother, Jay, the day before at dinner at Hugo's parents' house. I was rarely invited there but apparently Mrs. Bertram missed me and wanted to see me. And she wanted me to see Nick's new girlfriend.

* * *

Unfortunately, Daisy had somehow managed to invite Nick, herself, and her brother over to our apartment for dinner a few nights later. She clearly did not understand that Nick and Hugo do not get along.

"Just cook something Nick loves," Hugo told me. "It'll keep him quiet and he won't be able to criticize my life if his mouth is full. Or you could use rubber cement to keep his mouth shut."

I hit him playfully and he laughed. Hugo, contrary to what Nick says, is a great guy. He has a good and generous heart-even if he is a bit too welcoming to busty blondes who want to sleep with him.

"We're having chicken marsala."

"His favorite," Hugo remarked.

"Yes, in the hopes that he doesn't go off on the evils of being Hugo Bertram," I told my roommate.

"I don't see what's wrong with being Hugo Bertram. It's fun."

I smiled. "Go put a shirt on, Hugo Bertram."

"Hey now, don't you like what you see?"

Hugo has always reminded me of Josh Duhamel and that's the thing. I find Josh Duhamel aesthetically pleasing but not terribly attractive. Hugo says I have a think for flawed men. Maybe he's right.

"We have company coming over including Nick. Put on a shirt."

"Yes, Mom," he replied with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes as he left the room.

* * *

Daisy and Jay Crawford might as well have been characters from a Fitzgerald novel. She was blonde and lithe while he was more than vaguely reminiscent of a young Brad Pitt. Jay was all ease and comfort, instantly attempting to draw me into conversation with the statement, "So I've heard you're an artist. I've been to the Louvre."

"I haven't," I replied frankly.

"Oh, you should go sometime. That Mona Lisa is pretty great."

I smiled. "I've heard it's not actually that big. And I've been to art museums in Italy."

"But Paris is the art capital of the world," he persisted with a light in his bright blue eyes.

I shrugged. "That's a matter of opinion. I prefer Italian art to French."

"You'll find that Annie has more than her fair share of opinions when it comes to art," Nick remarked. "Generally she's pretty quiet but she loves to talk about art."

"I'm an artist. What else do you expect?"

"Hey, no need to get defensive, I'm just saying that it's interesting that you are really quiet in general, but when we start talking about art, you get all emotional and involved."

I shrugged. "I'm an artist. It's part of who I am."

"You know what's really weird?" Hugo said as he came out of the kitchen. "I never understood why the past tense of 'make-out' is 'made-out.' It's so weird."

"What?" Nick said. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"So would you prefer that it was make-outed?"

Now Nick was looking at me. "Where did you get that from?"

"I don't know. But it seems to follow your brother's line of thought."

Daisy scrunched up her nose. "Is made-out really the past tense of make-out? I never thought about that."

Jay laughed. "I know that I've made-out with a shitload of girls."

"Same here, bro," Hugo said. "And that's the thing. I was thinking about that. Have I made-out with a bunch of girls or make-outed with a bunch of girls?"

"You're ridiculous," Nick said.

"Nick, would you like some more chicken marsala?" I asked seeing a glare on Hugo's face.

Nick grinned and held out his plate. "Please, I'd love some. Dude, Annie, you make the best chicken marsala ever. I could like hire you as a chef or something."

"I just cook recipes that I find on the internet. It's really not that hard at all. Your parents' chef went to cooking school in Paris."

"Yeah and he cooks snails," Hugo moaned.

"Which is disgusting," Nick agreed. I liked this; they had found something that they agreed about.

"I just don't get it," Hugo said. "Why would anyone want to eat snails?"

"I don't like the idea of eating meat in general," Daisy said primly. "But I also believe in eating whatever is put before me. So if I'm served meat, I'll eat it. But I much prefer tofu."

"I hate tofu," Hugo told her. "Actually, I loathe it. I detest it."

"Hugo double-majored in English and business at the University of Michigan," I told Daisy.

"And he thinks that gives him a free license to be a smartass," Nick sniped.

Hugo took a sip of wine and laughed. "My degree isn't what gives me a license to be a smartass. It is merely my personality. I was born an asshole and I will die an asshole."

"And he's proud of it," Nick sighed.

"You got all the goodness and I got all the good looks," Hugo replied with a wink and a smirk.

"Annie, I do not understand how you can live with my brother."

"Well, clearly he's banging her," Jay said.

I sighed. "Not true, there's nothing between Hugo and me but air."

"I don't get it," Daisy said dimly.

"It's from a movie," Nick told her. "It's from _Singing in the Rain_."

"I've never seen it," she said. "Is it recent?"

"It's fabulous. I love it. But it is an old movie. It's from the 1950s," Nick told her.

"And it might be Nick's favorite movie," Hugo said. "But I think it is complete and utter shit."

"Hugo, go blow," I told him. "Or behave yourself."

"Yes mother," he replied with a wink.

I rolled my eyes.

* * *

Mollie and Chad came to visit me Labor Day weekend. Hugo was thrilled to have guests in the apartment; he even promised to behave himself and not bring anyone home all weekend. And behave himself he did. He was an angel. His brother, on the other hand, dragged the Crawfords over to meet Mollie and Chad. I'm not sure why he felt that his friends needed to meet mine.

Mollie and Chad had finally gotten engaged-to her delight and my relief. Hugo and I both wanted to celebrate with them on Friday night. Unfortunately, Nick called me that afternoon and informed me that he would be coming over for dinner with Jay and Daisy. I groaned and he sighed. "Annie, you're being immature. They're nice people. And I think that Jay likes you. Daisy told me he thinks you're pretty and very charming."

"Delightful," I said. "But that doesn't mean that you can just invite them over for dinner at my apartment the night that my friends come to visit me."

"Jay thinks you're a great cook."

"Well, tell him I said thank you. But that doesn't mean you can come over for dinner."

"Annie Price," Nick began. "Haven't I always been your best friend in the world? Haven't I always done everything that you wanted me to do?"

I rolled my eyes. "Mollie is my best friend."

"I've known you longer than she has."

"She just got engaged," I insisted. But he was gaining ground and he knew it. His guilt trips could rival any of Marie Barone's on _Everybody Loves Raymond_, which happened to be Nick's favorite show.

"I haven't seen you in over two weeks."

"Whose fault in that?" I replied grimly. "You're always busy when I'm free."

"You're the one who works on weekends."

I leaned back on my bed and moaned. "Nick, can't you postpone it until tomorrow?"

"Jay is busy on Saturdays. And you can go celebrate your friend's engagement tomorrow anyway."

"As it happens, I can't. I'm working tomorrow night. It happens that Labor Day weekend is a very popular time for weddings."

"Why are your friends coming to visit if you're working tomorrow?"

"Nicholas, I work every bleeding weekend. And my life is about to get substantially busier when school starts on Tuesday. This is the perfect weekend for me. They won't get to see me again until Thanksgiving."

"So you're definitely going to Holland for Thanksgiving even though my family has so graciously invited you?"

I sighed. "First off, Mollie's family lives in Jenison, which is way closer to Grand Rapids than it is to Holland. And secondly, the only reason that your family invites me to Thanksgiving dinner is that your mother has an odd sense of guilt and duty to do something for me because she and my mother were friends."

"Annabel, you know that's not true."

"And Mrs. Norris loves me."

"Okay, so Aunt Marge can be a beast at times, but she does love you."

"Nick, she's always telling me about all the things that I owe to your family because of all the favors that your parents did for me."

He sighed. "Annie, you've got to stop thinking that everyone in the world is out to get you. You're ridiculously paranoid."

"I'm not paranoid. I don't think that everyone is out to get me. However, personally, I believe that your family generally speaking does not like me. Hugo does like me. Sometimes, you're nice to me."

"Sometimes?" he repeated. "Dude, I'm always nice to you."

"Fine, come over tonight. But you owe me, Nicholas. You owe me big time. And I am not coming to Thanksgiving dinner."

"I'll see you tonight, Annie. But that conversation is not over."

* * *

"So Nick is coming over with Daisy and Jay," I told Hugo, Mollie, and Chad when I came back into the kitchen.

"Two words for you," Mollie said. "Push over."

I sighed. "Technically, pushover is one word."

"Sure, when it's a noun, but Nick totally just pushed you over."

I looked into Chad's dark brown eyes helplessly, but he just shrugged. "It's your battle, Annabel, not mine. I can't side with you over my fiancée."

I laughed. "I wouldn't expect any less of you, Chad."

He smiled. I like Chad Ritzema; he's tall and thin with blond hair and brown eyes. And he is absolutely perfect for Mollie. He isn't perfect for her because he's really smart, physically attractive, Presbyterian, athletic, or extraordinarily kind to her and to her family although none of those traits hurt him. No, he's perfect for her because he has taken time to get to know her and her interests. He cares for her and he would lay down his life for her in a heartbeat. He teases her but he never mocks her. And unlike Nick in relation to me, he always has her best interests at heart. I told her once that he was the Roger Hamley to her Molly Gibson; she giggled girlishly.

"So that's what happens when you get engaged," Hugo remarked. "You have to agree with her no matter what."

"Uh, no," Chad replied. "But you have to defend her when other people mock her."

"Boring," Hugo said before taking a sip of water. "I like being able to have fun and walk away when I'm done."

I punched him playfully. "Then why do you always defend me to Nick?"

"My brother is a special case. I have to protect you from him because you think he's Prince Charming, but really he's more like your personal flavor of kryptonite."

"You're so sweet about it."

"Hey, baby, if you want to be Clark Kent, I'll be your Lois Lane any day of the week."

Mollie rolled her eyes. "Is he always like this?"

"Usually, I'm worse."

Chad snorted. 'I can see why Annabel tried to keep us from meeting you for so long."

"Yeah, she was afraid I might corrupt your image of her as a nice, sweet girl."

"She is a nice, sweet girl although I am afraid you might corrupt her."

"She'll corrupt me long before I corrupt her."

"How in the heck would I ever corrupt you?" I demanded.

Hugo smiled. "You'd make me settle down and marry you."

"You know," Chad mused. "If I didn't know better, I'd say the whole playboy bit is an act and you're really madly in love with our Annie."

"Thankfully, you know better," Hugo replied with a wink. "And don't ever say things like that in front of my brother. He'd have a myocardial infarction on my nice clean sofa."

* * *

Nick showed up with Daisy and Jay around seven. I wondered if he knew how much the whole deal sounded like a page out of The Great Gatsby. But I didn't tell him. I tried to not melt in front of him. I tried to be strong. I wore the outfit that Mollie picked for me. It was supposed to be an outfit that screamed strong and independent. This statement was a bit odd coming from someone who had been dating the same guy since she was fifteen.

But even with the long-term boyfriend-turned fiancé, Mollie seemed to be a much more confident person that I'd ever been in all of my "mostly single except for the obsession with Nick" life. So I put on the dark wash skinny jeans, the satiny sleeveless dark green tunic, some gold jewelry, and my flip-flops. It was an outfit that I knew Nick would hate because it was "too artistic" but I didn't care. Chad made Mollie happy and I wanted to be happy. I didn't just want to be content. I wanted to be thoroughly and entirely happy. And if that meant aimlessly sleeping with a pathetic Brad Pitt look-alike, I might actually be up for that.

And then the pathetic Brad Pitt look-alike walked into the living room in all of his thirty-year-old frat-boy glory, following by his floating sister and Nick. And I knew that I couldn't sleep with him. I couldn't sleep with Jay because he was an asshole. Nick was out of the question because you can't have mindless sex with the person you've been madly in love with since childhood. When you have sex with That Person, it has to be thoroughly and entirely meaningful. I somehow doubted that I could ever have That Moment with Nick. But I didn't want any moments with Jay.

Nick was wearing khaki cargo shorts and a black t-shirt, which isn't necessarily the best look if you're tall and skinny. It also was not nearly as polished as Jay's jeans and bright blue dress shirt-with the sleeves carefully but casually rolled up to the elbows. And Daisy looked marvelous in a light blue dress that accentuated all of her positive characteristics and made you think she might be an angel.

And then she opened her mouth. "Nick said you didn't want us to come because you wanted to celebrate your friends' engagement tonight. And that's totally sweet. So we want to help you guys celebrate."

"So we brought vodka!" Jay said, pulling a bottle of Smirnoff out of a bag.

Chad cringed. "We don't really drink much."

"We're kind of conservative," Mollie added softly.

"You don't drink?" Daisy said. "What are you guys, Mormons?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked. "What do you have against Mormons?"

"Nothing really, but I don't get people who don't drink. Booze is good stuff."

"And it's bad for your liver," Mollie said.

"Well, baby, I believe that you should live every day like it's your last," Jay replied, swinging the bottle.

Hugo raised his eyebrows. "Hey, I'm into living in the moment and all that. But I'm also into respecting people's beliefs. So if they don't want to drink, I've got some cherry limeade in the fridge that I know they'll love."

"Cherry limeade is great with vodka," Jay persisted.

I looked over at Nick and noticed that he was just sitting by casually, watching everything. I wanted him to intervene in this situation. He was the one who had brought Jay and Daisy over even when I really hadn't wanted them there. But instead, he was just texting someone.

"If they don't want to drink, they don't have to," I said. "The cherry limeade is amazing."

"Do you drink?" Jay asked suddenly.

I shrugged. "When I feel like it, but I'm a big fan of moderation."

"Nick likes to drink, doesn't he?" Daisy cooed.

Nick looked up, startled. "Huh, what did you want?"

"I said that you like a little drinkie now and then, right?"

"I like a good beer," he replied, flipping his phone closed and slipping it into his pocket.

"I brought vodka," Jay told him.

Nick shook his head. "I'm not a vodka man. But Hugo is."

"Hugo is abstaining this weekend out of deference to his guests," Hugo said calmly.

"Then I guess the vodka is going to be wasted here tonight," Nick said.

"Damn," Jay sighed. "I was looking forward to a fun night."

"If you leave, you can still have one," Hugo informed him.

"We're staying," Nick said. "And the vodka will get put away to be used at a later date."

"You know, sweetie," Daisy cooed, putting a hand on Nick's shoulder. "I'd really rather just go someplace else. We're not going to have any fun if we stay and I don't think that anyone really wants us here."

Nick gave me a pointed look that told me I should contest Daisy's statement but I just shrugged. He glared at me, but I just raised my eyebrows. I would not bend to him in front of Hugo, Mollie, and Chad.

"Fine," he said after a few moments of silent communication with me. "We're out of here. But Annie, we are going to hang out at some point in the very near future."

Jay kissed my cheek. "See you later, baby."

Daisy just waved and then they walked out. Then we ate dinner with cherry limeade and were perfectly content.

* * *

A/N: Please review.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I don't own what you recognize. And I really appreciate any and all reviews I can get.

* * *

The following Thursday I walked into the apartment after work to find Hugo and Nick staring at each other in the living room. "What is this?" I asked. "Are you two having some sort of secret meeting or a staring contest?"

"Our sister is getting married," Hugo said.

"Which one?" I asked. Maggie and Julia always had boyfriends on hand and I was never sure how serious either one of them really was with the Flavor of the Week.

"Maggie," Nick said. "She's marrying that Sam Laird guy; I think you've met him before."

"Is he the guy Hugo described as more boring than vanilla ice cream?" I asked as I sat down on the arm of the nearest chair, which just happened to be Nick's.

"That's a bingo," Hugo replied in his best German accent. "Nick always preferred to compare him to beige walls."

I smiled as Nick said, "One thing that Hugo and I can agree on is that we do not like Sam and we don't think he and Maggie should get married."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Maggie is so not ready to get married," Hugo said. "She's an immature brat."

I smiled. "Look who's talking."

"Hey, I know that I'm not ready to get married. My sister is an idiot."

Nick shook his head. "You're so affectionate."

"You always were the good son. I'm the royal pain in the ass in this family. Everyone loves to hate. Except Annie, I think that she genuinely loves me. It's rather endearing."

I stuck my tongue out at him while Nick rolled his eyes. "It's not that we don't love you. We just don't like you very much."

I swatted Nick's head. "That sounds awful. I think I'd rather not be loved than have people say stuff like that to me."

"I'm funny," he replied.

"You're rude."

"Stop being the mom."

I hopped off the arm of his chair. "I'm going to get changed. You two can keep staring at each other or whatever."

"Annie," Nick began.

I shrugged. "I'm out of here, sonny boy."

* * *

I came out of my room an hour later. I had changed out of my work clothes and then flopped on my bed to read for a while. Nick was gone and Hugo was in the kitchen, making dinner. "Apparently, you pissed my brother off."

"He pissed me off first," I replied with a shrug.

Hugo smiled wryly. "Annie, we both know that I don't get along with my brother, but you two used to be best friends. Now, it's like you're enemies or something. He actually called me the other day to ask me what you were up to."

"He saw me last weekend."

"For about half an hour but then he left."

I sighed. "Hugo, it's his life and his choices. But I don't like the Crawfords. I can't explain it. I just don't. And he hangs out with them all the time, so I don't want to hang out with him. I'm sick of Jay hitting on me. It's awkward and weird."

"Hey, I don't like them either. He's gross and she's annoying."

"Nick would say you sound judgmental."

Hugo laughed. "He probably already has. In fact, I think he mentioned it earlier today."

"But he has no problems passing judgment on Maggie."

"Well, you know," Hugo replied with a familiar smirk. That was Nick's preferred way to begin any explanation when he was on the defensive.

I snorted. "Your brother always was a charmer."

"Hey, maybe someday he'll grow up."

That remark made me laugh. "He can be mature. It just rarely happens when you're around. When he's alone with me, he can be very friendly or he can act obnoxiously superior."

"We are six years older than you."

"Age does not automatically equal maturity."

Hugo sighed. "Sometimes, Little Bit, you are obnoxious."

* * *

Two days later, Marge Norris called me on my cell phone when I was in my office at the end of the school day. "I need to speak with you immediately, Annabel," she informed me. "It is a matter of great urgency."

"I'm listening," I replied calmly.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to be painting or drawing when you should be listening. This is pressing matter."

"I have nothing in my hands but my phone, Aunt Marge."

"If you are certain," she said in a suspicious tone.

"I am," I replied coldly. "Now what do you want to tell me?"

"Sam Laird, Maggie's fiancé, has invited everyone to his cottage up north next week."

"Okay, since I doubt that I'm invited, what does this have to do with me?"

Marge sniffed. "Annabel, I am surprised at your negativity. You ought to be open to your responsibilities to your family."

"Was I invited?" I asked.

"Well, no, but that is not the point."

I rolled my eyes and bit my lip to keep from sighing. Marge could be frustrating without effort. "Then why are you telling me this? Do you want to make me wish that I could go on this trip?"

"Not at all, why would you ever think that? I'm not cruel. I just called because no one will be home with your poor dear aunt while your cousins and I are going on this trip."

"Why are you and my cousins going on this trip when my aunt is not?"

"You know that your aunt is not in the best of health," Marge began. "And with your uncle in Mexico, she will be all alone while the rest of us are on vacation. So I was thinking it would be nice if you stayed with your dear Aunt Maria."

"For ten days," I said. "You want me to stay at the Maple Crest house with Aunt Maria for ten days."

"Well, yes, of course," Marge replied huffily. "You don't want your poor, sick aunt to be rattling around that old house all alone with no one to take care of her, do you? Think of all of the time and money she spent taking care of you. Maria and Thomas have been so devoted to you over the years. Now it is your turn to repay them."

I've never been exactly sure why Maria Bertram is sick. All I know is that for as long as I've known her, I've heard people saying that she was sick and needed to be treated delicately. As far as I could tell, she was like one of those Victorian ladies who were always fainting because her corsets were laced too tightly. But I also feel sorry for her because people treat her like a doll. They don't take her seriously and they're always petting her like she's a dog or a little kid.

"I'll do it," I said. "Otherwise, I'm pretty sure that no one would feed the dogs or take them for walks."

This had not occurred to Marge and I knew it. She didn't like her sister's three pet pugs, Leo, Max, and Marco. Nevertheless, she agreed. "Perfect, we'll need you to be here Saturday at ten."

"Sounds great," I said. "I'll see you then."

"I'll email you with Maria's schedule and things like that."

"All right," I replied while rolling my eyes. "But remember that I have to be at work from seven until at least four on school days. Plus, I have a photography job this weekend and next."

"Can't you get out of them?"

"I'm under legal contract," I replied. "I can't just call Lauren and tell her that my aunt needs me to stay home and watch Lifetime original movies with my aunt and her three dogs. I have an obligation to be at those weddings."

"But you have an obligation to your family."

"Lauren could sue me if I don't work those jobs," I replied. She probably wouldn't, but she could.

"Doesn't she understand about family?" Now Marge was whining. She was never any good at whining.

I looked at my screensaver, pictures I'd taken over the years. It was a picture of Hugo's cat, Mags, was sunning herself in the window. Hugo wouldn't want me to give up my job just for his family.

"This is my job. I will do as much as I can for Aunt Maria. But I'm not giving up my job to help someone else."

"You just take pictures at weddings. Anyone can do that."

"I'll remember that if Maggie wants Lauren to take her wedding pictures," I replied crisply. "After all, you could probably take Maggie's wedding pictures with your digital camera."

"I beg your pardon. Maggie is not just any girl and her wedding pictures cannot be taken with just any camera or by just any person. We will find the absolute best photographer in the area to take her pictures."

"And I'm sure that you'll find everyone will recommend you to Lauren. She has one of the best reputations in the metro Detroit area."

"Annabel," Marge sighed. "Just leave this to us. We know what we're doing. You're just a photographer and a teacher."

"I'll see you on Saturday morning," I replied calmly. "And I'll be expecting your email."

"All right," she said. "And remember, it's not that we don't think you're a good photographer. It's just that we know there are better ones out there."

"Good-bye, Aunt Marge," I said.

* * *

"I need vodka," I told Lauren when I walked into her apartment that evening.

"It's a weekday. I thought you didn't drink on weekdays," my friend and boss said looking up from her computer.

"My family is driving me insane. And they're not even really my family. They're just the people who raised me after my mom died."

Lauren smiled and brushed some of her long dark brown hair away from her face. "Honey, you know that some of them love you."

"They want me to babysit my godmother while the rest of them go on vacation."

"What?"

"Maggie got engaged."

"To the toast guy?" she asked.

"Vanilla ice cream or beige wallpaper, depending on which one of her brothers you're talking to," I replied as I plopped on her couch.

"Got it; you may proceed."

"So Mr. Beige Wallpaper invited all of Maggie's relatives to spend ten days at his cottage up north," I continued.

"In the middle of September?" she asked. "Who the hell goes on vacation in the middle of September?"

I shrugged. "Apparently, the Bertrams do. But anyway, Marge Norris called me to ask me to stay with my aunt while the rest of them go away because apparently Aunt Maria can't be left home alone. I agreed to stay with her, but Marge doesn't want me to work the weddings the next two weekends because it will interfere with me taking care of Maria."

"Bullshit," Lauren replied. "I need you. Both weddings need two photographers. I told the couples we would have two photographers. You're working. Mrs. Norris is just a pain in the ass. She's like the damn cat in Harry Potter."

I laughed. "Yeah, well, they have the same name."

"And a whole heck of a lot more in common than that," she replied. "Have you talked to Nick or Hugo about this yet?"

I shook my head. "I haven't been home yet, so I haven't seen Hugo. And I don't know how to talk to Nick about it."

"You just tell him the truth. And if you get a chance, remember to mention that he's a moron."

I laughed. "Lore, I am not going to tell him that."

"But you should. I think it. Your friend, Mollie, thinks it. Hugo thinks it."

"Hugo is Nick's brother. His opinion doesn't count."

Lauren laughed. "I think that my brother's opinion counts when he gives it."

"That's different," I said. "You and Dan get along. You two aren't at war or anything like that. The twins might as well be having a civil war or something bizarre like that."

She smiled. "I've only met them a couple of times, but I can see why they wouldn't get along. They're pretty different from each other in practically every way I can think of."

"I think their dad used to play them off each other too, and that doesn't help."

"I hate when parents mess with their own kids just for kicks and giggles," she replied.

I shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure how in touch with their parents are with reality."

"But at least they took care of you."

"That's for sure," I said. "Otherwise, it would have been foster care for me. And they've never been cruel to me. They've just always made it clear to me that I'm not the same as their 'real' kids."

"Yeah, well, I love you more than I love any of their supposedly real children."

I laughed. "You rock. Now give me food and drink before I go home and talk to Hugo or text Nick."

Lauren threw a towel at me before heading towards the kitchen.

* * *

Hugo wasn't home when I got home and didn't return until long after I went to bed, so I shot Nick a text message just telling him I had a question for him when he got a chance.

He called me while I was at work the next day. It was his lunch hour but not mine, so he left a voice mail and I called him that evening. "Are you coming up north with us?" he asked when he answered the phone.

"Nope," I replied casually as I threw one of my shoes across the room. "I wasn't invited."

"Weird, they invited Daisy and Jay."

"Yeah, well, Daisy is your girlfriend and Julia probably thinks Jay is hot. I'm just Raggedy Annie. They have no use for me."

Nick sighed. "You're not just Raggedy Annie."

I snorted. "Maybe not to you, but to them I am. Marge already called me to arrange for me to stay with your mom while you guys are all out of town. And I agreed to do it."

"Why did you do that?"

"I have to work. I can't go on vacation anyway, so I don't care about not being invited. And I don't mind staying with your mom and the dogs."

"Annie, try standing up for yourself, and stop letting my family walk all over you."

"Okay, then keep Jay away from me. I'm not interested in him. He's totally not my type."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nicholas, you are a moron. If I'm going to stand up for myself, I'm starting by standing up to you. No more Jay, I don't like him."

"I'm coming over there to talk to you. This conversation is not happening over the phone."

I wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but I agreed to it, mostly because it wasn't one of those things that I knew how to disagree with. What do you say to that kind of comment?

* * *

Nick arrived at my door with a six-pack of Oberon beer exactly twenty-six minutes later. As soon as I opened the door, he greeted me with one question. "What the hell is wrong with Jay?"

No hello, no how are you; he just cut straight the chase. Why the hell do I find this man even remotely attractive? He's pretty much a jackass ninety-five percent of the time. But because I'm the good girl, I didn't say any of that. I just smiled calmly and said, "He's not my type. There's nothing wrong with him per se. He's just too brash and out there for me."

"What are you talking about, Annie? He's perfect for you. I knew that the minute I met him."

"Are you serious? He's perfect for me? Well, here's some news, Yenta Nick. Your little buddy makes fun of my friends. I don't understand him at all. Admittedly, I barely know him."

"Then get to know him before you write him off. I think he'd be good for you."

"And I don't," I replied, flopping on the couch. "I'm sorry. But based upon my first impressions of him, he is not someone I want to get to know. I'm far more interested in Matt Harper."

"Hugo's obnoxious friend?" he asked. "You'd rather date Hugo's obnoxious friend that Jay? Isn't it a little Jane Austen of you to judge Jay based on first impressions?"

"Yes, I would rather date a guy who sends me tulips every year on my birthday and read all of the Harry Potter books on my recommendation rather than a Brad Pitt-wannabe who hasn't done anything to impress me other than talk a big game and insult my friends."

Nick shrugged. "Where the hell is Harper anyway? I haven't seen him or heard about him in ages?"

"Spain," I replied. "I'm not sure what he's doing there, but I got a postcard from Pamplona in July and one from Barcelona in August. I'm expecting one from Salamanca in September."

He snorted. "You are ridiculous."

"No, I'm just holding out for the best guy out there. And I haven't found him yet."

"Jay is a great guy."

"He's named after Jay Gatsby. That is not a stellar recommendation."

"Look, I just want you to be happy."

"Here's a surprise, Nick. I am happy. Sure, you drive me fucking bananas five days out of seven, but I like my jobs. My students are great. Working with Lauren is the honest-to-God dream job. I get to be creative. Your brother is a great roommate and I like his cat. I'm happy."

"So you are going to babysit my mom next week?"

I shrugged. "It has great potential. And there's no Jay."

"So you really just don't like him."

"Nope," I replied, feeling oddly emboldened by his orders to stand up to his family. Somehow, I doubted that this newfound boldness would last. "And you say 'so' at the beginning of a lot of your sentences."

"Well, aren't you Miss Picky when it comes to my grammar? I thought I was the one with degrees in library sciences and you were just the lowly art teacher."

"That doesn't mean that my grammar isn't better than yours. It just means that you shouldn't have any excuse for always starting your sentences with the same meaningless placeholder of a word."

"You're vicious tonight. Maybe I should leave before you start tearing my character to pieces."

"Maybe you should," I barked bitterly.

And then his phone rang. It was Daisy. "I'm sorry," he said. "I really should take this. And I'll see you. Maybe I'll send you pictures of our trip or something."

"Do what you want. I've been up north before."

Nick gave me a frustrated look. "Annie, do us both a favor and make sure that you don't spend the rest of your life giving in to my family."

"Hey, I stood up to you for the first time in my life. That's got to count for something."

He shrugged. "I guess so. But I still think that you and Jay could have been something."

"We'll just have to agree to disagree," I replied. "And who knows? Maybe someday I'll settle down and marry Hugo."

"Please God, no," he replied with a grimace.

And then Hugo walked in. The twins nodded to one another and then Nick hurried out.

Hugo looked at me. "Do I want to know?"

I shook my head. "Hopefully I'll never have to deal with the whole Jay thing again."

My roommate smiled. "I'd prefer if you just got over my brother."

"I can't tell you why I love him when he makes me so angry."

"You should show him that anger."

I laughed. "He'd never believe it."

"Sad," Hugo replied. "Let's have dinner and talk about more enjoyable things."

"Sounds fabulous," I replied, walking towards the kitchen with Nick's forgotten six-pack of beer in hand.

* * *

A/N: Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I don't own what you recognize. And thank you to all of my reviewers. I'm sorry it took so long to get this up here. I finished it about a week and a half ago and then went to bed and forgot to upload it.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

* * *

I was sitting on the couch wearing cutoffs and an old green flannel shirt when Hugo came home on Thursday.

"Guess what I've decided to do this weekend," he ordered as he threw himself into the recliner unceremoniously.

"Sleep with Daisy Crawford," I replied without looking up from my sketchbook. "And you'll do it right under Nick's nose, preferably in his own bed."  
Hugo shot a look at me. "How'd you guess that?"

"I've met you before," I said in my sweetest voice.

He shrugged. "I want to piss him off."

"Why do you want to piss your twin brother off?" I asked.

Another shrug was followed by a simple statement. "I don't even like the dumb girl. But I want to make sure that my brother remembers that I exist."

"Do you think he's forgotten?" I got off the couch and went into the kitchen to get an apple as I asked that.

"Probably not, but it's not good for his self-esteem for him to have a girl that hot all to himself."

"And here I thought you were a fairly monogamous guy."

"Oh I am, but she's too hot for him."

I sat back on the couch with the apple. "Hugo, you are odd."

"I know," he replied flippantly. "Hey, Annabel, if you're not married by the time you're thirty, you should marry me. We'd have damn hot kids."

I smiled. "I'll bear it under advisement, but I'm not agreeing to a blood pact on that just yet."

"Keep me posted, kiddo."

"Naturally, after all, you'll be my first call if I ever get engaged."

He grinned. "Just don't marry my brother. I look like trouble. He is trouble."

* * *

Trouble, or Nick as he prefers, came over later that night. "You're coming up north with us," he informed me as soon as he came in.

"Um, no, I'm not. I'm working."

"Annabel, I won't take no for an answer. I'll stay with my mom and you can go on vacation."

"No, I can't take the time off work. And I don't want to go anyway."

He sighed. "I want you to go."

"And I fail to see why that's my problem."

"Annabel, I'm trying to help you."

"Teachers cannot take vacation time in September. It's moronic."

Nick just looked at me. His gaze was condescending and cruelly kind. It was the look of someone who would hurt you thinking they were doing you a kindness but really they were destroying a very necessary piece of your soul.

I glared back at him. "I am not going. I will not take vacation time from either of my jobs. If I did that, I'd lose them. And I'm not going to Sotherton with you."

"Family ought to come first," Nick protested.

"Not going," I said flatly. "Now please leave."

"Annie, come on. We're friends."

"Go bother Daisy."

"What's your problem with Daisy? Why do you and Hugo hate her so much?"

"We don't hate her," Hugo said as he came into the room. "We just don't like her."

"But why don't you like her?"

Hugo shrugged. "Dude, she may be hot, but she annoys me. And she drives Annie crazy even if she is too nice to say anything about it. She acts way too much like Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby."

"You read?" Nick asked.

I laughed. "In case no one has told you this recently, your brother has a degree in English lit and human relations in college."

Nick looked at me. "But he works for my dad in public relations."

"But I studied smart people stuff in college."

"What the heck is smart people stuff?"

Hugo sighed. "It is what I studied while you were busy studying geeky boy crap."

"You boys are ridiculous," I sighed.

"Says the girl who studied being artsy-fartsy," Hugo replied.

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, at least I'm using my degree and I don't work for my daddy."

"I don't work for Daddy either."

"You're twenty-eight years old, Nicky, and you still call him Daddy? Man, bro, you're pathetic."

Brotherly chaos ensued and I managed to escape from the proposed trip up north.

* * *

It was amazing how quiet and peaceful my life was without Nick and Hugo. However, while physically absent, they still sent me at least a dozen text messages a day. Nick mostly just sent me pictures of the vistas from the house-sunsets, sunrises, and the lake. And every message included some sort of "You should be here" sentiment. Hugo, on the other hand, sent me messages like "Nick is sucking Daisy's face. Fitzgerald must be furious."

Hugo would have kept sending those messages with or without responses from me. He just wanted to continue being his annoying self. Or maybe he just wanted to remind me that his brother wasn't worth my while. He didn't need to worry. I learned something about Nick while he was gone. He cared about me but I wasn't the most important person in his life. And I would never be. It would be impossible for me to move beyond being his friend even though I might never know why that would be.

* * *

I worked every day that everyone else was out of town except the Sundays. Sunday I spent the afternoon talking to Mollie on the phone. "Chad's brother, Jake, is still single," she teased. "We could set you two up over Thanksgiving weekend if you want."

I laughed. "How old is he now, twelve?"

"Jake is twenty-five. Dylan is the twelve-year-old."

"How did I confuse them?"

She laughed. "You were tired?"

"I almost never see Chad's brothers. And he does have four of them. That might be why I can't remember which one is which."

"Poor Emily," Mollie sighed. "I can't imagine growing up as the only girl in a house full of boys."

"Your family is much more balanced of course."

"Two boys, two girls; it's the perfect arrangement."

I laughed. "Nick and Hugo would probably agree with you about that."

"We always tend to think our own ways are best."

"That sounds like a fortune cookie."

My friend laughed. "If I ever get bored of my job, I'll apply for a job writing fortunes for cookies."

I laughed. Mollie was the perfect balm for my wounded heart. She was an incredibly cheerful person. At times, she could mope, but in general she was a very cheerful person, and she was good at cheering me up just by being her warm self.

* * *

Tuesday night, I was lounging on the couch in yoga pants and a tank top while watching _Roman Holiday_ and sketching aimlessly while Mrs. Bertram napped. About halfway through the movie, someone knocked on the door. Nick was on the other side of the door. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, isn't that a nice way to greet someone? Aren't you at least going to invite me inside?"

I let him in. "Now why are you here? Why aren't you up in Sotherton with Daisy and all of them?"

"Can we go in another room? I don't want to bother my mom."

I nodded and we went into his dad's study. "Why are you back?" I asked as I shut the door.

"Can't I just come back and see how my mom is?"

"Yeah, but I don't think that's why you're here." I sat down on the desk and picked up a picture. It was a picture of Hugo, Nick, Maggie, and Julia at Maggie's college graduation. I hadn't been invited to the occasion. It hadn't bothered me but Nick had been mad. He thought that his family should do more to involve me in the family. I didn't care so much. I was just the family charity case. I didn't really belong and therefore didn't need to be involved.

Nick fumbled with something in his pocket for a minute or two while I ignored him. "Okay," he said finally. "I need you to come back to Sotherton with me. Something fishy is going on and I need you to get a read on it."

"Can't you ask somebody else about whatever it is?"

He shook his head. "Both of my sisters are involved somehow. Sam Beige Walls Boy is entirely oblivious to the world around him. Jay is definitely involved in it. Daisy says I'm crazy. And Hugo, well, he thinks I'm right, but no one takes Hugo seriously."

I held up a hand. "Um, what is going on?"

"I think Jay is messing around with Julia and Maggie."

"But Maggie is engaged."

"Duh," he replied. "But they're messing around behind Sam's back, in his house. It's ridiculous."

I nodded. "Okay, but what can I do? You know your sisters will never listen to me."

He smiled. "I just want your read on the situation. I want to know what you think is going on there."

"But what will come from it? You'll know that one of your sisters is cheating on her fiancé and that both of her sisters are having a ménage a trois with your girlfriend's brother. Will that make you feel better about anything?"

"I'll feel better about you turning down my relationship advice."

I shrugged. "But you'll know that your sisters are doing something that you think is pretty awful. Will that make you happy?"

"I'll feel vindicated."

I sighed and put the picture frame down. "Nick, I don't want to know if you'll feel vindicated. I want to know if you'll be happy."

He sighed. "I want everyone to be happy. It's not just me that should be happy."

"Nick, we can't always be happy. We'd get bored of it. And besides, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you're cheating on your fiancé, then he should dump you."

"I don't want to break up Maggie and Sam. I want to break off the whole damn ménage a trois with Jay and both of my sisters."

"So you don't want to tell Sam about it? You just want to confirm that the affair is happening and then break it off?"

He shrugged. "It makes sense to me."

"I thought you didn't like Sam."

"I don't, but I like him more than Jay."

"Nicholas, Jay is your girlfriend's brother."

"Yeah, well, I love Daisy. That doesn't mean I have to like her brother."

I pressed my lips together. "Okay, but how is your girlfriend going to feel if you blow the whistle on whatever is going on?"

Nick threw his arms up in the air. "Annie, you don't even like Daisy. So why do you care?"

"I'm not going to play your game. I'm not going to Sotherton to help you sniff out who is having sex."

He pouted. "But I need your help."

I felt like I was dealing with one of my first-graders during art class when all he wanted was the scissors with the green handle. He was pouting and on his long, thin face, it was not attractive. "But that's the thing. You don't need me. You just want someone to validate you and make you feel better."

Nick gave me his classic look that told me that I was the one with the problem. "Well, if you won't come back to Sotherton with me, then, I'm not going back either. I'll stay here with you and Mom."

"If you're staying here, I'll just go home to the apartment. It's closer to the school."

He sighed. "Hugo was right. You are mad at me."

I sighed. "Let's not discuss this now, Nick."

"No, Annie, let's discuss it now. Why are you so cranky around me all the time? What in the heck did I ever do to you?"

"I'm just tired."

"No, this is more than tired. This is like I did something wrong, which I'm not really sure how I could do anything wrong towards you. All I want to do is help you and be your friend. But lately, you ignore me and you act like Hugo is your best friend. And you put Mollie and Lauren ahead of me. I don't get it. I'm just trying to be supportive."

"Then you might want to try supporting my career choice."

Nick snorted. "I do support you. You're an artist. I get that. It's amazing. You are so talented. I just do not get why you want to be a teacher. You're wasting your talent showing little kids how to finger-paint and then taking pictures of other people's weddings. Why don't you go to Paris or New York?"

"I like Mansfield," I replied. "And I like teaching. I was born to teach."

"Annie, you're an artist. Your photography and sketching, you are brilliant. You could make so much money. You could be someone. But you just want to be a teacher. I don't get it. Why don't you want to be someone? Why don't you want to have art shows and sell your photos in galleries and all that? You could make so much money and you'd be famous."

"And that's not what I want. I don't want to make so much money or be famous. I want to share art with kids. I want them to know who daVinci and Dali were. And I want them to know that they can be artists too. I want to change the future, and teaching kids about art is how I want to do it."

Nick sighed as he ran his hands through his hair. "I don't get it. I just don't get it. And the worst part is that when we were younger, I was always the one who got it. I was the only one in my family who got you. But now, I don't. I totally don't. But Hugo, you two are suddenly best friends and on the same wavelength. I used to fix all of his mistakes. But now, he's the one doing the fixing. And I don't like it."

"Then stop trying to fix me. Now are you going back to Sotherton or can I go pack?"

"Why don't you like Daisy?"

"She's like Maggie," I replied as I hopped off the desk and started for the door.

He grabbed my arm. "Take that back, Annie; she is nothing like my moronic sister."

I glared at him. "Make me."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Then don't," I replied firmly. "And let me go."

Nick loosened his grip but didn't release me. "I just want us to be what we used to be."

I pulled my arm loose from his. "The relationship we used to have depended upon me being the child while you were the adult. But I'm twenty-two, I've graduated from college, and I have two adult jobs. I'm an adult. You need to treat me like one, or we can't be friends anymore."

He said nothing, so I left. I had nothing to stay for anyway. He had proven that to me.

* * *

I packed up my things from the attic and said good-bye to Mrs. Bertram. She kissed my cheek and told me to come by for dinner on Thursday evening. "It would be good to see you and Nick without Hugo around to cause trouble or Margie stirring things up."

I smiled. "I'll be here."

I didn't see Nick before I left.

* * *

A/N: Please review.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I don't own what you recognize. Please, please, please review!

* * *

I spent Wednesday evening drinking beer and sketching. Thursday, I went to dinner with Maria and Nick. I went from work, still wearing the leggings and light pink sweater-dress that I had been teaching in. I had ditched the smock I'd been wearing over the dress while teaching.

I knocked on the door with a bottle of wine in hand. It was my sole contribution to dinner other than my presence and my ability to converse. Nick opened the door and smiled. "You came."

I nodded. "Were you expecting me to bail?"

"You weren't very happy with me when you left the other night."

"You aren't the only attraction to this house. At times I do enjoy your mother's company."

He smiled again. "I'm glad to see that you still love me as much as ever."

"Let me in the house and I might like you a little bit more."

Nick let me past him and into the living room where his mother was waiting for us. "Annabel, my dear girl, it is so good to have you here. I've missed you. And Nick is so sad without you."

"Nick is in constant need of a captive audience," I teased. "It's why he should never be without a girlfriend."

"No bickering tonight," was Maria's warning response. "I want peace and happiness in my family."

"Annie doesn't think she's part of our family," Nick said in a low voice.

I looked at him and shook my head.

"Of course you're family, dear. Just because you're not related to us, that doesn't mean we don't love you." Maria was sitting on an overstuffed chair with a dog in her lap.

"I know you love me but that doesn't make you family. I can't explain it, but I'll always feel like an outsider in this family."

Nick gave me a funny look that I couldn't decipher. His mom, on the other hand, gave me her "oh, you poor baby" look that I'd been facing since my mom died.

But before she could say anything, I just waved my hand. "Don't worry about it. I've got my own issues to do with. Don't fuss over me. Not everyone comes from a happy family. We're not all Ronald freaking Weasley. Some of us get to be Harry Potter and hang out in the cupboard under the stairs."

"You're so dramatic," Nick sighed.

"That's possible," I said. "But I feel like Harry Potter standing outside the Burrow watching the Weasley family run around with all their happiness and love. But unlike the Weasleys, you guys can't expand your house or your hearts. There's no room for me in the family. I can only be a friend."

"My dear Annabel, I do not want you to feel unwanted, but we are a rather close family," Maria told me. "You are dear to me, but when you first came here, it was hard to love you. You were all bones and angles."

"And you were so awkwardly quiet," Nick added. "It was like you couldn't talk."

"My mom had just died. I had been taken from all of my siblings and thrown in with people who clearly didn't want me. Forgive me for not jumping into your arms eagerly and becoming best friends with your whole family."

Nick looked like I slapped him. "We tried."

"You tried," I replied bitterly. "Most of your family couldn't have been bothered."

Maria sighed. "Let's go to dinner. We'll talk about this later."

That meant we would please never discuss it again. But dinner was delicious.

* * *

Hugo came home on Sunday night. This meant that he stomped into the apartment, slammed the door shut, kicked his suitcase towards his bedroom, and threw himself on the couch, hitting me in the stomach with his head. I'm pretty certain that I'll never be able to have children. "Nice to see you too," I said, pushing his head onto my lap.

Hugo sighed. "Okay, darling, I'm home. Now never let me leave again. And always remind me that I hate people."

I laughed. "All you need is a good bottle of beer and a good night's sleep."

"And a new family," he replied.

"You want to run away to Holland with Liam and me for Thanksgiving?"

He sat up. "Are you serious? I would pay to escape Bertram Family Thanksgiving."

"Okay, give me a hundred bucks and you can come with us to Mollie's parents' house. Now why does your family suck so much?"

Hugo sighed, dramatically. "That trip was a sex fest. And I was not getting any."

"Yeah, Nick filled me in a little on the ménage a trois that was going on. He wanted me to come up there with him and help him break it up."

"My dear brother is so idealistic. St. Peter himself could not have broken that den of sin up. My sisters are disgusting and that's just life."

I laughed and picked up my laptop. "I'm sorry. I'm still awesome."

"Yeah you are. Now, what have you been doing without me?"

"Right now I'm messing around on the Target website."

"What is it with you and Target?"

"I love it."

He rolled his eyes. "Darling Annabel, it is a store. Yes, it sells all sorts of things, but many stores do that. You don't obsess over Wal-Mart or Meijer."

I laughed. "Neither of them is nearly as awesome as Target."

"Explain this to me."

"Target has great deals, great products, and fantastic graphic design. Plus, I hate Wal-Mart on moral grounds. And Meijer's slogan is weird."

"A million reasons, a single store," he sang.

"I don't think that's it anymore. I think that it's 'higher standards, lower prices.'"

"You're right," he said, leaning back and putting his feet on the coffee table. "Maybe I'll take the other one and open my own business with it."

"Doing what exactly?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Something awesome, anything I do is awesome."

"Right, because you're made of awesome," I replied.

"Maybe I could just sell bottled awesome?"

I laughed. "I'm not entirely sure how one bottles awesome, but if you figure it out, I'd love to be your business partner."

Hugo grinned. "Right on, sister; so, what'd you do while I was gone?"

"I decided that Nick looks like Benedict Cumberbatch."

He laughed. "And this is coming from the girl who is in love with Rufus Sewell."

I shrugged. "He's hot in an odd way. And I think that Nick really does look like Benedict Cumberbatch."

"I think he looks like a loser."

I swatted at him. "Shut it. Sometimes, you're a real jerk."

He grinned. "You missed."

I shrugged. "I'll get you later."

"Suit yourself, but I'm going to unpack now. I'll whine more later."

* * *

Whatever had happened in Sotherton had served to unite Nick and Hugo in an odd way-even if Nick and I weren't really friends at the moment. Both were determined that their sisters needed to be kept away from both Jay and Sam. Somehow, Nick was still okay with Daisy, but Jay had suddenly become a persona non grata in his life. He wasn't being shoved down my throat anymore, but Daisy was still willing to tell me about his interest in me. And Nick was still stupidly dragging her into our apartment-and our lives-at his whim.

* * *

One evening at the end of September, he brought her over while Lauren and I were doing some photo editing together. Nick hadn't called to tell me he was coming and Hugo wasn't home. Lauren and I were just working and hanging out.

"What the flip are you doing here?" I asked when I opened the door and saw Nick and Daisy, who was carrying a bottle of wine.

"We were in the neighborhood," Daisy replied in a chipper tone. "And we thought we'd stop by. We aren't interrupting anything, are we?"

"Well, actually, Lauren and I were doing some work."

"Work?" Daisy repeated.

"Photo editing and prep," I replied firmly as I leaned against the door. I still hadn't let them in yet.

Nick sighed. "So this is a bad time?"

"Yeah, you really should have called ahead to see if I was free."

"But you're Annie. You're always free," Daisy said.

Before I could retort, Nick picked up a different thread. "Is Hugo home?"

"Negative," I replied. "He had a date or something tonight. Or maybe he was just working late. I have trouble reading his handwriting sometimes."

Nick smiled but Daisy frowned. "I don't get him."

"Hugo," Nick said flatly. "You're saying you don't get Hugo?"

Somehow, the budding irritation in his voice made me swing the door farther open and they slid in. As Lauren looked up to greet them, Daisy nodded at her boyfriend. "Your brother is just odd."

And I know that she is unknowingly digging chinks in their relationship. It's fine for Nick to mock Hugo, but if other people do it, he'll defend his brother to the death. As he once told me, "we are twins after all. It's a bond stronger than death." Similarly, Hugo told me once that "Blood is thicker than Faygo." Apparently it's supposed to mean the same thing as what Nick was trying to tell me. Regardless, the twins bicker and squabble but they will always love each other-even if they won't admit it.

And every now and then, other people get to see that attachment; this was one of those times. "My brother is not odd. He has bad handwriting, but that's not surprising. Mine is utter crap too."

"But Hugo is just so different. He's always laughing in corners at jokes I don't get."

Nick shrugged. "Maybe you two just don't have the same sense of humor."

Daisy flinched. "I have a great sense of humor. I love jokes and funny TV shows."

"Maybe you and Hugo don't find the same jokes funny," Lauren inserted from the couch.

"Who are you?" Daisy retorted.

"I'm Lauren. Annabel and I work together as wedding photographers."

"That sounds boring."

Lauren shrugged. "It's a matter of personal preference, but personally I love that job."

"So you guys aren't really up for just hanging out, huh?" Nick said suddenly.

I shook my head. "We're just a little busy, but some other night, if you give me warning, it'd be fun to hang out with you guys."

Daisy sighed. "But this was our plan for the night. We're so busy this month."

"The month ends in less than a week," Lauren said flatly.

"Well, we're still busy."

I sighed. "I'm free next Tuesday. Come by then and I'll make you dinner."

"Just remember that I'm a vegetarian."

I nodded. "I couldn't forget."

"I just want to be sure."

"Daisy, Annie's really good at details. Don't worry." Nick's tone was firm and steady.

* * *

"She's obnoxious," Lauren said after Nick and Daisy left.

I smiled. "I'm not crazy about her, to say the least."

She snorted. "You can't stand her. And I'm not sure that Nick really likes her."

"Are you kidding me? He can't stop watching her."

"So he likes to look at her. That doesn't mean that he doesn't find her personality annoying. It just means that he isn't ready to throw out that body yet. He's a superficial jerk. What else are you expecting?"

I shrugged. "I guess I always thought that Hugo was the jerk and Nick was more sensitive. And I'm struggling to accept that the reverse is true."

"Marry Hugo," she advised softly. "I like him."

I shook my head. "That'd be weird."

"I don't think it'd be as weird as you think it would."

"Hugo is like a brother to me."

"And Nick isn't?"

I pulled my legs up against my chest and shrugged. "I can't explain it, Lore. I can't. But I've never seen them the same way. Hugo is like your obnoxious, condescending older brother while Nick is the best friend I always wanted."

She shrugged. "But that's not what they're like now."

"No, now it's like they reversed their roles completely."

"Why do you think that is?"

I groaned. "I don't know. Don't make me psychoanalyze them."

Lauren laughed. "I was just curious if you knew why they'd changed."

"No clue," I replied. "All I know is that a lot must have happened while I was away at school."

"Four years is a long time."

And then an inspiration popped out of my mouth. "And Nick has changed a lot since Daisy came into his life."

"He doesn't think he needs you anymore," she said.

"Exactly," I replied. "But his brother has always wanted me so he has no reason to kick me to the curb. Plus he has no Daisy in his life."

"He doesn't need Daisy."

"He doesn't want Daisy," I said. "He told me once that he'd like to mess around with Daisy once just to get Nick's goat, but in reality, he wants someone more like me."

Lauren took a sip of wine. "Dude, honey, he wants you."

I shook my head. "No, be serious. He does not want me."

"Think what you want," she replied lightly before returning to an analysis of the lighting in a picture on her computer.

* * *

A/N: Please review. I want to know what you think. And I'm sorry that it took me so long to get this up here. Work has consumed my life-for better or worse.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I don't own what you recognize. Please review! Reviews ensure more prompt updates.

* * *

"So if you're not going to date Hugo, can we try to set him up with my sister?" Lauren asked me this question one night in mid-October. We had just finished photographing a wedding and had gone back to her apartment to relax.

"What, don't you want a shot with him?" I teased.

She shrugged. "I think he'd be better suited to Kate than me."

Kate Cassidy was one of those people who were born to be a barista. Coffee was her passion. And she loved spending her time with people. She smiled and laughed and made each of her customers feel like they were the most important person in the world at that moment. She was an oddly perfect mix of Audrey Hepburn and Maggie Gyllenhaal, and I loved her for it. Kate had been my best friend during our four years at Mansfield Park High School and it was through her that I had met Lauren and discovered my love of looking at the world through a different lens. Kate was spunky and warm and actually exactly what Hugo needed in life.

"So you want me to set my best friend up with your sister?"

Lauren nodded. "I think it'd be brilliant."

I laughed. "I can see what you're thinking."

"So arrange a way for them to hang out together in a neutral setting and realize that they'd be awesome together."

"What, you can't do that?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I don't want Hugo to think that I'm harboring a crush on him."

"You sound like a middle-school girl."

Lauren shrugged. "I'm still allowed to have crushes. That's what Hugh Jackman is for."

I laughed. "I'd rather have Benedict Cumberbatch."

"I know," she replied. "That's why you're weird."

I threw a pillow at her-naturally.

* * *

Lauren's birthday was October 21, a Thursday that year. So naturally, I convinced that Kate that she and I had to throw her sister a birthday party. This turned into a dinner at my apartment with Hugo, Kate, Lauren, Dan, and Nick and Daisy who had almost begged to be invited when she found out we were having a party. She clearly never got the message that the guest of honor found her obnoxious. But Lauren would be wonderful and make Daisy feel wanted-even when she wasn't. My friend had such grace.

* * *

Lauren's birthday dinner was on the actual day of her birthday. Hugo and I made dinner. Lauren was in the living room chatting with Nick and Daisy while we waited for Kate and Dan to arrive. I was amazed that Lauren was "making nice" with Daisy instead of hiding in the kitchen with Hugo and me, but she is gracious. She was calmly listening to Daisy's prattling with a glass of wine in hand.

"How can she stand it?" I asked Hugo.

He smiled. "She has a glass of wine. It softens the prattling. I learned that when we were at Sotherton. If you're drinking, she's not as obnoxious. It makes you feel more like a character in a Fitzgerald novel, so you don't mind the fact that she's so Daisy Buchanan it's ridiculous."

I laughed. "Doesn't Nick know that due to his name he can never find happiness with Daisy? It's just impossible."

Hugo laughed. "My brother believes in the Tooth Fairy, Annabel. To him, hope always springs eternal and he can always get the girl."

"Maybe he should try for a different girl, like one who won't try to change him."

"Are you nominating yourself to replace Daisy?"

I shook my head. "Nah, I think I'll retreat and see if I can find something better elsewhere."

"Words of wisdom, love," Hugo replied as a knock came at the door. "And that'll be the lovely Kate with the decent Daniel. Shall we let them in?"

I laughed. "I'm on it."

Kate and Dan were at the door with a tall, dark-haired stranger. "This is Dan's coworker, Milo Copeland-Garcia," Kate told me. "He's new to town, so we thought we'd drag him along so he wouldn't be bored and lonely."

"He's Lauren's birthday present, Nan," Dan added softly as he kissed my cheek. "I'm thinking he might be perfect for her."

I grinned. "You're a sweet brother."

"I try," he replied. "Milo, this is Nan Price. Be nice to her. She's a good egg."

"And call her Annie," Kate added. "That's what everyone except for Dan does."

"I just like to make her name rhyme with mine."

"Come in," I told him as I rolled my eyes. "And give me your coats."

* * *

Kate is the kind of girl who intimidates other girls by her presence. She's extraordinarily beautiful. When I'm standing next to her, I feel like I'm standing next to freaking Heidi Klum or something. And I know her own older sister feels the same way. She's one of the nicest people on earth and incredibly down-to-heart once you get to know her. But at first glance, well, she's intimidating to a lot of people. That, apparently, included Daisy. From the moment I met her, I knew that Daisy was used to being the center of attention, the prettiest girl in the room. And when Kate entered the room, wearing light gray leggings and a fairly simple teal dress, everyone's eyes seemed to be drawn to her as if by a magnetic force. Her hair was seemingly impossibly brown and it made Daisy's blonde hair look like straw in comparison. The sad thing was that I could see Daisy withering in the shadow of Kate.

So she tried flirting with Milo. "So, Milo," she said, tossing her hair and attempting to say his name with an Italian accent. "Where are you from? Are you Italian? My aunt and I try to go to Italy at least once a year. We love the food and the culture. Italians have just the most sophisticated culture in the world."

"Well, I was born in Oviedo in northern Spain," he replied in a surprising crisp English accent. "But I spent most of my childhood in Leeds, in England. And then I went to Oxford. I taught there and then in Dublin. And now I'm teaching Brit Lit at the University of Michigan."

"So you're not Italian," she said.

"Not one bit," he replied with a smile. "My father was from England, my mother from Spain."

"Huh," was Daisy's bland reply. "So you teach college? That sounds boring. I hated college."

Nick winced and Milo laughed. I looked up and saw Hugo's eyes dancing with laughter. "Daniel Cassidy, I haven't seen you in ages. Are you back in country now?"

"Since January," he replied. "I'm teaching at Michigan and hoping to stick around long-term."

"Then we'll have to go out together some time," Hugo said. Then, he turned his eyes to Kate and his face lit up. "Katie Cassidy," he said slowly. "Well, you have certainly grown up in the past few years."

She smiled wryly. "That is the way of the world, Hugo Bertram. We all age, and hopefully we do it like a nice French wine."

Dan came up next to me and poked me. "So, is everything going according to plan so far?"

"Well, I wasn't planning on Milo," I replied.

"Oh posh," he said with a wave of his hand. "He's helping us."

"I thought he was for Lauren."

"Ultimately yeah, he is. Do you think she'll figure it out? I forgot to put a bow on him."

I rolled my eyes. "Are you ever serious, Dan?"

"Once in a blue moon," he replied with a flirtatious smile.

It was at that moment that I glanced over at Nick. He was glowering and I wasn't quite sure at what. It was probably the sight of his girlfriend awkwardly flirting with a British guy who was, I had to admit, better looking than him. Even I can admit that there are guys who are better looking that Nick. And Milo was one of them. He was just gorgeous-purely and utterly aesthetically pleasing. It was almost as enjoyable as looking at Michelangelo's David.

* * *

"Okay, people, dinner is ready," Hugo said. "So get your stinking selves to this dinner table so we can eat and get to dessert sooner."

"I don't stink," Daisy huffed. "And I hope you remembered to make this a completely vegetarian meal."

"We didn't," I said flatly. "But we need specially prepare a vegetarian meal for you. It has not been at all contaminated by any meat product."

"Oh," was her only response.

"And now we eat dead cow," Hugo said with a grin.

"Pig," Lauren corrected him firmly.

"Sorry, sometimes I get confused between pigs and cows."

"How exactly did you pass kindergarten?" Kate asked.

"Easy," he replied. "I cheated off of Nick."

Nick snorted. "You're full of it, Hugo. Contrary to the bad boy image you've spent years carefully trying to cultivate, you have never cheated anything- not anything school-related and not a single girlfriend. He's not really a jackass; he just wants people to think he's one."

"How do you know that?"

"Dude, we're twins. I just know it."

Hugo looked down at the floor. "And once again, my genius brother is right. As much as I hate to admit it, I'm not as much of a bad boy as I'd like people to think."

Kate shook her head. "That stinks. I'm only interested in bad boys."

He shrugged. "It's your lost, Katie-kins. I'm a pretty amazing dude."

"Nick is cooler," Daisy inserted awkwardly.

Her comment hung in the air heavily before plummeting to the floor. None of us knew how to respond to that comment. Then, Dan offered me his arm. "My lady, would you join me at the supper table?"

As I took his arm, everyone else followed us to the table. I found myself between Milo and Dan and opposite Nick. Nick was not acting like himself. He was stiff and awkward and quiet. When Milo asked him what he did with his life, Nick just sputtered, "I'm a library boy."

Milo nodded as Lauren said, "Nick works as a reference librarian at the Mansfield Park District Library. And he's good at what he does, really talented."

Nick nodded like a puppet; I almost felt bad for him. But then Daisy said, "He works there now, but we're hoping he can find a better job soon. We'd really like it if he could find a great job that would help to support me in the manner to which I am accustomed. Libraries are all well and good if you're just a bachelor, but if you have a wife and family, you need a real job."

Milo took a sip of wine and nodded. "So, Miss Daisy, would you then say that my job as a college professor is not a real job?"

Daisy bit her lip, hesitating. Milo had trapped her in a "damned if you do and damned if you don't" situation. "I mean," she said slowly. "It's a real job for you, but you're not Nick."

"Intriguing," was all that Milo said in response.

"Also, being a professor and being a librarian, they are so not the same thing. You teach college. He just plays with books all day."

"Well, she's fun," Dan muttered in my ear.

I smiled and replied, "You should see her when she's had a few drinks in her. Then she really gets going."

"You mean this is only her on a mild setting?"

"Indeed, does that scare you?"

"It is mildly unnerving, to say the least."

I smiled. "She's a special one."

"Tell Nick to dump her and find himself something better to do with his time," Milo softly interjected.

Dan snorted. "Nick doesn't believe in dumping girls. He doesn't like the idea of breaking anyone else's heart. He'd rather have his own heart broken."

"Pathetic," Milo said.

Nick looked up at Milo. "What are you guys talking about?"

"People's dating patterns," Milo replied in an innocently.

"I thought I heard my name."

"I was asking Annabel about your relationship with Daisy."

Nick nodded. "Annie and I haven't been spending as much time together since the beginning of the school year. She's been busy with working her two jobs and hasn't had as much time for me."

"You make her sound like such a horrible person," Dan joked. "I always thought she was the sweetest member of your family."

I rolled my eyes. "You didn't just think that. You knew that."

"She's been busy," Nick inserted defensively. "It's not like I've been avoiding her."

"Dude, no one said you'd been avoiding her," Dan said. "All that anyone has said is that you two haven't seen much of each other. And meanwhile, my sisters have seen our lovely Annabel on numerous occasions."

"Well, Annie does work with Lauren," Daisy said in a snippy tone. "That does require that they see each other once in a while."

"Dude, Kate sees Annabel almost as much as Lauren does and they don't work together," Hugo said. "I, on the other hand, have not seen the lovely Kate outside the Common Ground in about two or three years."

Kate laughed. "If you wanted to see me, all you had to do was contact me. It's not like you don't know where I work. You've seen me at the coffee shop dozens of times over the past two years. I've told you before that you'd save a lot of money by just buying an espresso-maker and making your own lattes."

"Yeah, but that's not the same thing as hanging out with you like this."

"Hugo, you're being weird again," I teased.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not being weird. I just think that there is a very different relationship at the dinner table than there is between a barista and a customer."

Everyone but Daisy laughed. "But Katie and Annie are friends and Annie still lets Katie serve her coffee. How does that work?"

"I have different views on coffee than Hugo does," I replied lightly.

"Coffee's just a drink."

"Maybe to you it is, Blondie," Dan replied. "But to us addicts, it is the nectar of the gods and we each relate to our drinks and baristas in different fashions."

"You're weird," Daisy replied in a highly critical tone. "And never call me Blondie again."

"Got it, Daisy Buchanan."

"My last name is Crawford."

"Are you at all acquainted with The Great Gatsby?" Milo asked.

"I don't read," she replied.

"Why?" Dan asked.

"Books are for dumb sissies. Plus, I don't have time to read."

"And you're dating a librarian?" Milo queried.

Nick put up a tentative hand. "Guys, it's not like she can't read. It's like she just chooses not to."

"So what do you two talk about when you're together?" Kate asked.

"Nicky-poo lets me do most of the talking," Daisy said as she wrapped her arm around Nick's neck and pressing her head against his shoulder.

Dan raised his eyebrows and Hugo rolled his eyes.

Lauren, on the other hand, asked a question. "So are you guys serious about each other?"

"Yeah," Nick replied with a casual but vague smile.

His girlfriend on the other hand, merely shrugged. "Probably, but I'm not sure."

"Not sure?" Nick repeated.

"I'm going to take the dishes to the kitchen and clean up," I said as I stood up.

"I'll come with you," Lauren said.

"Could you bring me out a bag of extra buttery popcorn?" Hugo asked.

Dan smacked my dear roommate and pseudo-brother upside the head before standing up and picking up some plates.

* * *

"So what exactly does Nicky-poo see in Blondie anyway?" Lauren asked when we were in the kitchen.

Dan laughed. "Her boobs, mostly, but beyond that I can't tell you."

"That's pathetic."

"Isn't that what Milo called him?" Katie asked as she came into the kitchen with the chicken platter in her hands.

"Nah, that's what he is," Dan replied. "The dude is dating her mostly because he can't believe that a girl like her would really ever want to be with a dude like him. He's a dork and she's like a Bond girl or something. Dorks dream about dating those girls but that's all they usually get to do."

"And he's living the dream."

"Yeah, that's it in a nutshell."

Kate sighed. "Is she always this edgy though?"

"Nah, usually, she's pretty sweet," I said.

"I think my dear Katie is making her feel inferior with her glamor and class."

Kate rolled her eyes. "I'm not that exciting. I'm still single after all."

"That doesn't have to be that way," Hugo said as he entered the kitchen. "Now, where's my popcorn? Things are just heating up out there. Daisy just told my dear brother that she's not sure she believes in marriage. She likes open relationships and the freedom to be and do what she wants."

"How's Nick doing?" I asked. "Has he had a heart attack yet?"

"I don't know. I left to get popcorn when she said that, but he looked like he was turning red when I left."

"You're a horrible person," Kate said with a sigh.

Hugo grinned. When he smiled I knew exactly why Lauren thought he looked like Josh Duhamel; his smile was remarkable and quite enchanting. And then he spoke. "I know it, Katie. But I live in hope of being reformed by a charming young lady such as yourself."

She laughed. "Well, I'm not much of a reformer, but I might be willing to try my hand at it for you, if you ask me extra nicely."

"Kate," Dan said. "You ought to realize that with Hugo it wouldn't be reformation that you'd be attempting. It would be lion taming."

"I always did want to run away and join the circus."

* * *

By November 1, it was as though Hugo and Nick had traded lives. Hugo was attempting to be a good and devoted prospective boyfriend to Kate Cassidy while Nick and Daisy were squabbling like hens. Even Nick noticed the change. "Where did my brother the future Hugh Hefner go? Now it's all spending time with Kate and ignoring parties and blondes."

"I think he's always wanted to be this person, but he's never had the motivation before. Now he has an incentive to be the good guy."

Nick sighed. "But how does this work? I used to be the good guy and now my relationship is going down the tubes while my brother is suddenly looking like he's going to settle down and get married."

I stretched my legs out on the coffee table and shrugged. "People change, Nick."

He sighed. "I want to get married. I've wanted to get married and have a family for eons. Hugo has never wanted that. But now my supposedly serious relationship is a mess while my brother who was only ever interested in one-night stands is in a serious relationship. How the hell is that fair?"

I smiled wryly. "Fair is a four letter word that starts with an f and we don't say four letter words that start with f."

"Oh, fuck off, Mother," Nick replied, throwing a pillow at me.

I rolled my eyes as the door opened and Kate and Hugo burst in, talking and laughing. Nick grunted almost like a bear at the sight of the smile on his brother's face.

"Hey, Kate and Hugo," I said with a smile.

"Annabel," Kate replied eagerly. "How are you, sweets? And you, Nick, how goes it?"

"I'm just leaving," Nick said as he stood up.

Hugo sighed. "Nick, don't go. We were going to make dinner and we'd love for you to stay. Wouldn't we, Kate?"

She nodded with the same genuine smile. "We'd love to have you. Annie, you're obviously welcome too. But, Nick, please do stay."

"I'm going to see Daisy."

"Does she know you're coming?" Hugo asked.

Nick sighed. "Do you have to be so smart?"

"Dude, I'm your twin. I know you. We've been together since conception and I know when you're lying to me. And right now, you're shitting me. You don't have plans with Daisy. You just don't want to sit here and watch me with my girlfriend."

Nick flinched. "Hugo, drop it. I'll hang out with you guys another time."

"Fine, just leave Annie here to watch Kate and I canoodling."

I rolled my eyes. "Hugo, you know I hate watching you guys canoodle."

"But it's fun."

"Maybe for you, but it just makes me feel lonely and bored."

Kate shrugged. "Maybe we'd be better behaved if Nick hung around to supervise us."

"Maybe you'd be better behaved if you two weren't caught up in that whole phase of new relationship mojo and puppy love," I teased.

Hugo laughed. "Yeah, but only time will tell on that front."

Nick sighed. "Fine, I'll stay, but only if Hugo and Kate behave themselves."

"Scout's honor," Hugo replied with a raised right hand.

* * *

A/N: Please review.


	10. Chapter 10

**Nick's POV**

* * *

Between the trip up north in September and Maggie's wedding, I had exactly three real conversations with my sister. Each one of them was about her relationship with Jay. All I wanted to know was if she was involved with him at all. She refused to tell me. "It's nothing serious," she told me the first time. "Don't worry about me."

"I'm worried about Sam," I replied.

She laughed. "Don't be. No one worries about Sam."

Maybe someone should have worried about Sam.

The second time, she told me, "It's nothing worry about. Jay's just a guy."

Yeah, and my brother spends so much time in a coffee shop because he really likes the smell of coffee.

The third time, two days before the wedding, she told me, "Look, moron. Jay is hot. Sam is rich. I know which side my bread is buttered on. You don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself."

* * *

I never told Annie about any of these conversations. I always felt like I should have. I felt like I needed to go to confession or something to purge my soul. And I needed Annie's input. But I was afraid of what she would say. I wanted someone to tell me I was right but I didn't want someone to tell me I was right. If I was right about Jay, then that would mean that I should probably breakup with his sister. And I wasn't quite ready for that one yet. I liked the idea of Daisy.

* * *

Sam and Maggie got married the weekend before Thanksgiving. It was an incredibly fancy wedding-especially considering how little time they'd had to plan it. But my sister was determined to get married quickly because "I'm in love and I just want to be married. I don't want to waste time being engaged. That's boring. Plus, I've always wanted a fall wedding. It'll make November more exciting."

I rolled my eyes at that statement, but no one had been paying attention to me that day anyway. In all of the wedding planning, Hugo and I had been pretty much ignored. No one cared about the opinions of two brothers who didn't like their sister.

Nevertheless, I was still expected to play the part of loyal groomsman. I wasn't sure why since I had spent so much effort questioning the match.

"You look good in a tux," Hugo told me the night before the wedding.

"And you don't?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Well, Annie says I look good in anything. And Kate says I look best shirtless. But Sam probably doesn't want a groomsman who is better looking than him to outshine him in the pictures and make him look like the lame Zac Efron wannabe that he is."

I laughed. "You really do love yourself, don't you?"

"I'm the best, and you know it, man."

"Oh shut it," Kate said as she came into the living room from the kitchen, a mug of tea in hand. "You just want us all to notice you so you don't feel lonely tomorrow when Annie and I are helping Lauren with the photography and Nick here is in the wedding."

My brother stuck his tongue out at his girlfriend. "I'll just sit with Daisy and make fun of how my brother looks in a penguin suit."

"I thought you hated my girlfriend."

"Are you two still officially together?" he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, of course we are."

And then Annie came in, all bundled up in a black jacket and dark purple scarf over skinny jeans. "It's actually acting like November out there," she said, rubbing her pink cheeks.

"Yeah, Mags is pissed that the weather isn't following her orders," I told her. "She wanted a fresh, crisp November wedding."

"It's November in fucking Michigan," Hugo said. "Tell her to get over herself and realize that this is what happens. You can't order the perfect day; you just live with what you get."

"Yeah, but you know she'll start bitching at Lauren tomorrow like this is somehow her fault," I reminded my brother.

"I'd rather that she bitched at Sam."

"That's stupid," Kate pointed out. "Sam just takes whatever your sister dishes out."

"Yeah, I told you he was the vanilla ice cream boy," Hugo said. "I can't see what Mags sees in him. He's as exciting as beige paint."

"Oh be nice," Annie scolded. "Your sister is marrying him. You boys are stuck with this dude for the rest of your lives."

"Or until Prince Valium stops taking his daily interval and divorces my sister's bitchy ass," Hugo suggested.

While Annie rolled her eyes, I laughed. "Nice job, Hugo, your ability to reference _Spaceballs_ and _Equilibrium_ in one analogy impresses me."

My brother grinned. "I try to be both nerdy and awesome at the same time."

"I think that under the Josh Duhamel-lookalike exterior, you really are a dork," Kate commented.

"He does love to watch _Star Trek_ when he thinks no one's watching," Annie observed as she carefully hung up her coat. I was watching her movements out of the corner of my eye. She was so light, so graceful, so fragile to me.

But this news about my brother had also captured my attention. "You really watch _Star Trek_?" I asked.

He sighed, but Kate nodded. "And it's not just like he watches the recent movie. He watches the original series with Shatner and Nimoy."

"I'm so proud. Give me a hug, you closet trekkie."

My twin rolled his eyes, which only made Annie and Kate laugh.

"Come on, Hugo," I said. "Get your sorry self over here and give your brother a hug."

"Remind me tomorrow after I've had a few brews."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll try, but you know how my memory is after a few."

"I know," Hugo replied. "That's what I'm counting on."

Before the conversation could go any further, Annie yawned and stretched. She was almost feline in her movements. "Right then," she said looking around. "I'm off to bed."

"Annie," my brother said suddenly. "Is Liam still coming for Thanksgiving or Christmas?"

She shook her head. "He was going to come for Thanksgiving, but I'm spending that with Mollie's family, so he postponed until Christmas. But now he has a girlfriend with a kid and she wants him to spend Christmas with them instead. So, I'm just going to have to wait some more before I see my brother."

"Well, you can see my brother for Christmas instead," I teased.

She smiled weakly. "Dan already got me an invite to the Cassidy family Christmas. But I'll still spend Christmas Eve with your family, Nick. Don't worry."

"You and Dan, huh," Hugo said. "Should I be worried?"

"Worry about Milo and Lauren first," she told him with a smile.

He laughed. "I'm so proud of her."

"She's happy, Hugo," Kate said. "Instead of spending her life taking pictures of other people's memories, she gets to make her own memories."

"Yeah, but she's still taking pictures of my sister's memories tomorrow."

I sighed. "We'll see how long those memories last."

"Not as long as Lauren and Milo's will, I hope," Kate said.

"Or ours," Hugo said, kissing Kate's hand.

That shook my soul. My brother was talking seriously about making memories with someone.

"Well, I'm off to sleep," Annie said as she stood up.

"Night," I said flatly. I wasn't in the mood for people anymore.

Hugo and Kate both hugged Annie before she left the room. I was all discombobulated and I didn't even know why.

* * *

My sister's wedding was nice, I suppose. It was fancy and expensive. And I think that was what she wanted it. "It photographs well," Annie told me after the ceremony.

We were standing in the back of the church watching as Lauren took picture after picture of my sister and Sam. "They look good together."

"Well, your sister wouldn't marry an ugly man," Annie replied flatly.

I sighed. "Personally, I'd rather marry a smart girl than a pretty one."

"Well, you seem to have gotten lucky with Daisy on that account."

The comment didn't require response, but I wanted to reply anyway. But at that exact moment, Julia came dashing over. "Nick, we're doing family pictures now. Stop wasting time and come with me. Oh, and Annie, that's a nice skirt. I think I had something like that back in fifth grade."

I grimaced as Annie blushed and walked away. And I just followed my sister.

* * *

Daisy and I stayed until the end of the reception. That was her idea. I wanted to leave around ten when I got tried, but she insisted that it was our duty to "keep the party going."

I was annoyed because Kate and Hugo left around ten-thirty and went home to watch a movie with Annie who'd left a few hours earlier.

"I'm tired," I pouted as we walked out of the reception hall at two o'clock in the god-forsaken morning.

"Yeah, well, at least we had fun," she said, waving the bouquet in my face.

"Speak for yourself," I replied. "I'm fucking tired."

"Oh, whine all you want. You know we're going to be the next ones married."

"How the hell do I know that?" Research has shown that Nicholas Bertram swears more when he's tired.

"Well, I caught the bouquet."

"I think Kate and Hugo are more likely to get married first."

Daisy huffed. "We've been together longer than they have and you know your brother has commitment issues."

"And he loves Kate."

"I don't get that. Kate's gorgeous but she's also really fucking boring."

"I doubt Hugo would agree with that statement," I said, finding the idea of my brother dating anyone who was "fucking boring" absurd. This was my brother, the renowned playboy. Any woman he dated would have to be interesting-especially in the bedroom, not that I'm claiming to have any knowledge of my brother's sexual relationship with his current girlfriend.

"Oh, just shut up and drive me home," she ordered when we reached the car.

I sighed and complied. At least I could go home and sleep and not have to worry about her for a couple of hours.

And maybe I could convince Annie to be my sanity for a couple of hours at some point before she went away for Thanksgiving weekend. God alone knew how disordered my brain was.

* * *

A/N: I know that I'm the world's most sporadic updater, but I really would appreciate some reviews.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I don't own what you recognize, and I really appreciate reviews. Really.

* * *

From where I was sitting, the week after Maggie's wedding was remarkably calm. Hugo and Kate were as sweet and adorable as ever. Nick didn't come around much, but he was reportedly spending more time than ever with Daisy. Hugo chalked this up to the fact that Daisy had caught the bouquet and was now itching to get married. This, to Hugo, Kate, and me, was a reversal from Daisy's previously stated opinion that she would never marry until Angelina and Brad got married because she supported their reasons for not getting married.

"She's a sheep," Kate observed one evening. Hugo had just informed us that Nick was feeling pressured to propose.

"And Nick's a pathetic moron," Hugo remarked. "I love him, but mark my words; he'll propose to her just because he can't believe he could ever land a girl like her."

"Charming," I sighed bitterly.

"Marry Dan," Kate told me, patting my arm. "He's a good egg."

"He's your older brother."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

I shrugged. "I like Dan."

"But you're still not over Nick."

"How'd you know?"

Kate pressed her lips together and leaned back against Hugo's chest as he protectively slid an arm around her. "Instinct," she replied. "And don't worry about it. Time heals all wounds."

"Or wounds all heels," her boyfriend teased.

"You're not helping, Hugo," my friend said firmly. "So please kindly shut up."

He complied.

* * *

Saturday morning, Nick showed up at our house around nine o'clock bearing coffee and blueberry muffins. This was a sign that he wanted or needed something. First off, he was there early in the morning; he never comes over early in the morning unless he needs something. And secondarily, he was bearing gifts; they were probably really bribes. But I digress.

"I need to talk to you," he said as soon as I let him in the apartment.

"I'm not dressed," I replied.

"You're not naked."

Technically, he was right. I was wearing plaid flannel pajama pants and a hooded sweatshirt, but those are merely pajamas. "True, but I'd like to take a shower and get dressed before I have any serious conversations."

"But I need to talk to you now."

I sighed. "Give me twenty minutes. Then we can talk."

"And what am I supposed to do for twenty minutes?"

"I don't know. We have cable. Watch cartoons or something."

* * *

Nineteen minutes later, I came out of the bathroom wearing jeans and one of Hugo's old flannel shirts; I swear the boy went through a lumberjack phase at some point in his life. My hair was still damp, but I could live with that.

"Okay," I said, taking the cup of coffee Nick held out towards me. "What's the big deal?"

"I'm confused about some stuff, and I need you to put me back in perspective."

I sighed. "I'm not your therapist, Nick. I'm your friend who is six years younger than you."

He shrugged. "You're smart, Annie."

"You only think that when you need me to be smart."

"Can we do this without fighting?"

"I haven't had my first cup of coffee yet," I replied.

"Sass doesn't become you."

"Au contraire, mon frère," Hugo said as he wandered into the room clad only in pajama bottoms. "I think that our lovely little Annabel has blossomed into quite the sass queen."

"Put a shirt on, moron," Nick replied.

My roommate ran a hand over his chiseled torso. "Why on earth would I want to cover this goodness up?"

"Because you're ruining my breakfast," was the snappy reply.

"Yeah, well, you ruined my beauty rest."

I sighed. "Boys, behave. Hugo, go put on a shirt. Nick, please proceed in spilling your guts."

"Maggie never should have married Sam."

"No shit, Sherlock," I said without even thinking about it. But then I looked at Nick, and I realized a few things. First off, he really does look like Benedict Cumberbatch on the BBC's _Sherlock_, which made my comment kind of ironic. But then, there was the deeper truth. He was distressed, genuinely worried about what he was telling me. This wasn't just some superficial thing about how bland Sam was. He was genuinely worried.

"Sorry," I said quickly. "I'll be serious and let you talk."

"Thanks," he said. Then he took a sip of coffee. And then an avalanche of words slid over his smooth, thin lips. "Maggie shouldn't have married Sam and I don't think she loves him and I'm pretty sure she's cheating on him with Jay and everybody says don't worry about it but I am worried about it and maybe you were right about Jay and Daisy wants to marry me but I can't commit to that when I think that my sister might be cheating on her husband with Daisy's brother."

I held up a hand and took a long swallow of coffee. "Try that again. I got something about you think that Maggie is cheating on Sam with Jay and Daisy wants to marry you, but you're not sure that's a good idea."

"That's what I said," he replied.

"God," I said.

"I know."

"So what do you want me to do?"

Nick shook his head. "Tell me what to do, Annabel."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Well, if I were in your shoes, I don't know what I'd do. But I think you need to realize that your sister's life is her own life and you have to let her make her own mistakes."

"But Daisy wants to marry me and I can't marry her if her brother is having affair with my sister."

"Nick, just because you don't like Jay, that doesn't mean you have to take it out on his sister."

"So you're saying that I should marry her."

"Not in so many words," I replied slowly. "But if you really and truly love her and are certain that she reciprocates, then you should marry her. Just don't doom yourself to a life of unequal passion."

"You sound like a Jane Austen novel," he replied with a sigh.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"You do that if you want."

I rolled my eyes. "Just because I'm not entirely cynical yet doesn't mean you have to mock me."

Nick laughed. "You live with my brother. If you have to watch him with Kate, you either have to throw up or become a hopeless romantic."

I wadded up my napkin and threw it at him. "Actually, I like watching him with Kate. It gives me hope that someday I'll meet a really great guy who appreciates me for all of my finer qualities instead of mocking me and coming to me for therapy."

"This isn't therapy. This is advice."

I sighed. "Nicholas, you show up with coffee as a bribe at nine o'clock on a Saturday morning to ask my advice on dealing with your sister and your girlfriend."

"Because you're my best friend," he interrupted me.

"I'm not trained in dealing with this shit."

"You lived with my family for most of your childhood. You understand most of the shit in my life better than any therapist could."

I was trying not to sigh again. So I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then I sipped my coffee. And then I finally looked at him. "Nick, please stop dumping all of your drama in my lap."

"I just need to know what to do."

"I'm not an unbiased observer. I don't particularly like Maggie or Daisy. Jay makes me want to vomit. My honest advice to you would be dump Daisy, ignore Maggie, and let Jay live with his own decisions."

"I love Daisy. I'm not going to dump her."

"I know," I replied. "So that's why I'm telling you that if you love her and she loves you, then go ahead and marry her. Do what that makes you happy, not what makes me happy. It's your life, not mine."

He nodded. "I got it. But for the record, I want you two to be friends."

"Not going to happy in a million years, brother," Hugo said as he came back into the room, this time clad in blue jeans and a black dress shirt. "Some creatures are just natural enemies, and apparently that includes your girlfriend and our dear Annabel. But don't worry. I have plans for Annie to marry Dan Cassidy and live happily ever after with him."

"Annie and Dan, married, really? Are you insane?"

I laughed. Sure, this was the first I'd heard of any such idea, but I knew that Hugo was trying to get his brother's goat, whatever that old cliché means, and I wasn't about to screw it up.

Hugo shrugged. "I think it makes perfect sense. Nan and Dan, together forever, it would be great. Their personalities mix beautifully, and I would always get to see Annie at Christmas."

"But Dan's Dan."

"What's wrong with Dan?" I asked.

Nick shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't want you to marry him."

"If you don't want her to marry other guys, then marry her yourself," Hugo told his brother in an odd voice. "But if you're not going to marry her, then let somebody else have a shot at her. Annie's pretty dang amazing."

Nick kind of looked like he'd been slapped.

* * *

"I need a therapist," I said as I walked into the Common Ground to see Kate later that day. Lauren was sitting by the counter with a cup of coffee and a book.

"I don't do that kind of stuff," she replied. "But I can give you coffee."

"Almost as good as coffee," I told her. "Vodka is the only thing that's better."

"Sex is better than vodka," Kate said with a twinkle in her eye. "Or at least, that's what my sister her tells me."

I giggled. "So, Lauren, do you have beans to spill?"

"I can confirm that Milo is a delightful man," she replied.

"And you two are in an official relationship?"

"They even put it on Facebook," Kate told me.

Lauren rolled her eyes. "I never said that sex is better than vodka and I didn't put the relationship on Facebook. That was Kate and Hugo."

I looked at Kate who just shrugged. "Right, so why do you need a therapist?"

"Nick came over this morning looking for relationship advice."

"I hope my boyfriend killed him."

"Nope," I replied casually. "He just mocked Nick for a while and then went to take a shower."

"Lame," Kate sighed. "I need to find a manlier boyfriend."

"You should find a guy named Manly," Lauren remarked looking up from her book.

"Let me know how that quest goes for you," I said.

"I think there was a character named Manly in some book I read once."

Kate rolled her eyes. "I don't think this is helping."

"It's entertaining," I said.

Lauren sighed and shook her head of long brown hair. The Cassidy sisters shared heads of thick dark brown curls that I had always been jealous of as a kid even though Kate reassured me almost constantly that I didn't really want their hair. "Kate, make Annie a warm beverage and shut up."

"Whaddaya want?" Kate asked me.

"Caramel macchiato," I replied promptly.

"How big?"

"Humongous."

"Naturally."

Lauren shook her head. "So, Annie, why did Nick need relationship advice?"

"He wants to marry Daisy."

"Bastard," Kate mumbled as she steamed milk.

Lauren chuckled. "My sister is a big fan of her boyfriend's brother."

I smiled. "She loves him. In fact, I think she wants him to take up residence in the guest bedroom if she ever marries him."

"I could spit in your coffee if you like," my barista called.

"Nah, I'm good, but thanks for offering."

Kate rolled her eyes and Lauren laughed. This is why I have girlfriends. They're infinitely cooler than Nick and almost as cool as Hugo.

* * *

A/N: Please review!


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: First off, I'm sorry that I take forever to update. I've been busy doing cool things like graduating from college. But I don't own what you recognize and I hope you enjoy the new chapter.

* * *

I hadn't spent Thanksgiving with Mollie's family as I had planned. Lauren and I had to photograph a wedding the day after Thanksgiving. Now, according to Lauren, getting married Thanksgiving weekend is "un-American" and "sacrilegious." And yet she will still book weddings that weekend, so her concerns must not be too deeply rooted. (Also, I'm not sure why it's "sacrilegious" since the wedding wasn't in a religious venue and Lauren isn't religious anyway.)

But I promised Mollie that I'd spend the New Year with her family, and that seemed to placate her-especially when she realized that Chad's older brother would be around for New Year's, so it'd be the perfect time to set me up with Jake.

December tore past us before we even really knew what was happening. I spent Christmas with the Cassidys. Due to a strong sense of obligation, I spent Christmas Eve with the Bertrams, which was sufficiently awkward since the Crawfords were also there.

* * *

Holidays with the Bertram family have always been funny. We all show up, most of us ignore each other, we eat a professionally catered meal, and then we try to get away from each other as fast as we can. Gift exchanges are optional. Hugo has some vague recollection that we didn't exchange gifts Christmas 2006, but I'm not too sure about that because I was out the door faster than you could say "turkey dinner" that year. That was the year that Julia and Maggie started fighting over Julia's boyfriend in the middle of dinner.

Christmas 2010 did not disappoint on the drama front. My only relief from the crazy at the Bertram house was the fact that Kate was there with Hugo. It was a huge relief to look away from Nick and Daisy's canoodling and see two friendly faces trying to smile at me.

Maggie's cell phone was never far from her fingers. While Sam sat quietly and blended in with the wallpaper, his wife kept texting someone throughout the evening. Now it was highly unlikely that she was texting him since Maggie just kept getting new messages, reading them, having obvious facial reactions to them, and then responding to them. I had a sneaking suspicion that she was texting Jay, but I wasn't sure about that. Like Nick, I didn't want to be sure about that. I didn't want my cousin to be cheating on her husband. I didn't want my cousin's marriage to end in divorce. But something inside of me told me that I didn't run the universe. Of course, that same something also said that I didn't want to run the universe.

* * *

After dinner, Marge Norris decided to take issue with the fact that Hugo and I wouldn't be at diner the next day. Apparently, attending Christmas Eve dinner, "Midnight" Mass, and opening presents with the family was not enough. If we really loved Tom and Elizabeth, we would spend more time with the Bertram family and less time with this "tart's motley gang. You have to realize, Hugo dear, that she's only after you for your money."

Hugo stood up at that comment and looked at his aunt. "That's enough, Aunt Marge. You know, I grew up hearing that if you didn't have anything nice to say you shouldn't say anything. So shut up. Kate isn't interested in my money. She likes me for me. Not everyone is as low and grasping as you. Stop projecting."

Marge gasped and sputtered. But before she could say anything, which I'm sure she intended to do, Hugo continued, "And while I hate to break-up this lovely little party, Kate, Annie, and I will be leaving now. We know better than to wear out our welcome on Christmas Eve of all days."

Nick stood up and hugged me, kissed Kate's cheek, and shook his twin's hand. No one else did anything and we were out of the house in less than five minutes. However, Uncle Tom followed us. "Hugo Thomas, was that absolutely necessary? Did you have to do that?" he was bellowing as he followed us to the car.

"Did I have to do what, Father?" Hugo asked.

"Oh, don't be like that. You know what you did."

"I was honest. Do you have a problem with honesty?"

"Hugo, be respectful of me. I am your father."

Hugo sighed. "Dad, respect is earned, not given. Get over yourself and then we can talk."

"Get out of my sight, you smarmy little bastard. I never want to see you again."

"Your wish is my command," Hugo replied. "And I'll be filing my two weeks notice the first day back after the new year."

"I need you in the office every damn day that you're supposed to be there. You're one of my most important employees."

"I'm sorry, Father. You said you never wanted to see me again. So, I quit. Find someone else to replace me. I can find another job. Maybe I'll get a job for Wentworth Enterprises. I hear they could use someone with my skill set."

"Get out of here, now!" his father fumed.

So we left.

* * *

Christmas with the Cassidys was far more comfortable. Everything was more casual than the Bertram family's celebrations. Dinner wasn't catered. The jeans and tunic sweater I was wearing stood in harsh contrast to the dress I'd worn the night before, which had cost over $200 and had been an early Christmas present from Hugo and Nick. (It was almost certainly all that I was getting from Nick. Hugo, I knew, had bought me at least two other presents. I'd caught him burning the receipts so I couldn't take them back to the store.) The dress was dark green and gorgeous and thoroughly impractical for my life. But I owned it. And who knows? Maybe I'll need it again someday-like when Nick and Daisy get married.

* * *

But regardless of Christmas Eve, Christmas was perfect. My brother sent me a new camera lens. Kate made me a new sweater and the promise of a matching skirt soon. Kate bought me some loose-leaf tea and a bunch of movies I'd wanted. Dan gave me a set of mugs with quotes from _Much Ado About Nothing_ on them.

Mrs. Cassidy made an amazing dinner and we sat around eating and drinking and talking and laughing until almost midnight. I was totally exhausted when Hugo and I finally went home.

"Did you have a good Christmas, Annabelle?" he asked me as we were walking into the apartment.

I nodded. "It was the best ever. And you know what made it so great?"

"Nick wasn't around to make you uncomfortable or self-conscious?"

I laughed. "I was actually going to say that it was spending the day with people I love and feeling entirely happy all day. But the break from your brother didn't hurt at all."

"Well, I'm glad you had a wonderful Christmas, Annie. You deserve it. And I'm also glad that Dan gave you a kiss under the mistletoe."

"Well, he had to do something to make sure that he and I didn't feel left out considering how you and Milo were treating Katie and Lauren under the mistletoe."

Hugo laughed. "One must keep Christmas in the best possible way especially if being festive allows one to shower his girlfriend with affection."

I shook my head. "You're absolutely ridiculous."

He smiled. "And I'm proud of it."

"As long as you're making Kate happy, I can't really complain."

"I like how you'd never say that to Nick about Daisy."

I shrugged and threw my coat towards the couch. "I want Kate to be happy, and you make her happy. I don't think Daisy is ever really happy."

"Bitch," Hugo replied.

"Good-night," I said as I rolled my eyes.

* * *

Three days later, I left to spend a week in Jenison with Mollie, Chad, and their families. It was a much-needed, no make that desperately needed vacation. I didn't need a vacation from Hugo or Kate or Lauren-although a break from work was nice; Dan was working second camera with her for the New Year's Eve wedding she was working. I needed a break from Nick. He had spent most of the days between Christmas and my departure at our apartment debating whether or not he should ask Daisy to marry him. Hugo told him that if it was an issue for debate, than the answer was automatically no. Nick chose to ignore that comment.

* * *

Mollie and Chad were deep in the depths of wedding planning. They were planning on getting married on Saturday, May 28, 2011. It was Memorial Day weekend and they were planning a beach wedding. Mollie, of course, wanted me to help with wedding planning and I was actually willing to help her. I loved spending time with my best friend.

"It's a relief to get away from my mom and Chad's mom. I love them, but it's my wedding and it's 2010, almost 2011. We are not planning Princess Diana's wedding. There won't be puffy sleeves or 90 pounds of lace. And I'm not having a blasted train on my wedding dress. I'm getting married on the beach, not in a cathedral."

"Your mom didn't get married in a cathedral," I told her. We were eating lunch after we went bridesmaid dress shopping.

"Yeah, I know. But she got married in a church and even though Pastor Harper will officiate at our wedding, she's still convinced that it's not a real wedding since it's not in a church."

"You want to get married on a beach, so you're getting married on a beach. Tell your mom to get over it."

She laughed. "Have you met my mom recently?"

"I know."

"You're lucky. When you get married, no one will be telling you what to do and how to do it."

I laughed. "I'll just have Hugo."

"How is dear old Hugo?"

"He's great. He and Kate have been together for over two months, which is apparently his longest relationship ever."

Mollie grinned. "That's cool."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it. She's perfect for him, Mollie, absolutely perfect."

"And how's Lauren doing?"

"She's great. Having Dan back is great for her. He's working with her this weekend while I'm out here."

"And how's her boyfriend? I hear he's beyond gorgeous."

"I'm relatively certain that he's the most beautiful man alive. And he worships the ground she walks on. He loves her and he treats her like a princess."

"And you're jealous?"

I shrugged. "Kate has Hugo. Lauren has Milo."

"Hey, isn't Dan single?"

"It's an idea," I said casually. "I could go for that. He's kind of amazing."

"Did he kiss you?"

"Why do you ask that?"

Mollie shrugged. "When you talk about him, you look like a girl besotted."

I grinned. "We kissed under the mistletoe on Christmas. It wasn't a big deal. I think he was just trying to make me feel better after we watched Hugo and Kate and then Milo and Lauren take their turns. But it was a great kiss."

"He's a better guy than Nick."

I looked at her. "You've never met him. How do you know that?"

Lauren laughed. "He's good to you. He wanted to make you happy on Christmas. He doesn't do thing that hurt you."

"Nick doesn't do that shit on purpose."

"I know, but Dan notices the little things and he tries to make you happy."

"Hugo does that too."

Mollie smiled. "I know, and for a long time I wanted you two to end up together."

"I could never marry Nick's brother. And I could never steal my best friend's guy."

"Yeah, I get that. And I also know that he's far more of a brother than anything else to you. But Dan, you don't see Dan as a brother, do you?"

I shook my head. "Nope, he's definitely not a brother."

"And he's a sweet guy, right?"

"He's wonderful."

"And he's good looking?"

"He isn't a Josh Duhamel lookalike the way Hugo is."

Mollie laughed. "Well, that's a once in a lifetime characteristic. But regardless, Dan is attractive, yeah?"

"He's like Jim from _The Office_ without the ears."

She smirked. "His ears don't stick out?"

"Nope," I replied, popping the p for emphasis. "He has lovely ears."

"And what about his eyes, does he have blue eyes?"

"Brown," I replied.

"You can have him. I'm not interested."

"Dork," I replied.

* * *

The next few days melted into a blur. They weren't blurry at the time, but later events forced much of the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011 into an odd haze that I'm not sure I'll ever totally remember.

This is what I know. On New Year's Eve, my car broke down. Chad's dad took it to his mechanic for me, but it wouldn't be ready until a few days after the New Year. I needed to be home on Monday, January 3 because I had to work the next day. So, on Sunday, Hugo drove out to Jenison to pick me up. Since he had just quit his job, we could share a car for a week or so. Or he could rent something; he told me not to worry and just to let him figure it out. Anyway, once my car was fixed, Chad and Mollie would bring it to Mansfield Park on a Friday and spend the weekend with us. And then they'd take Chad's car back to Jenison.

That was our plan. Hugo arrived around noon on Sunday. Kate had been planning on coming with him until someone called in sick last minute at work and she had to cover the shift. This would turn out to be a miracle for her.

Hugo and I left Jenison around five o'clock. We stopped in Lansing for dinner around six-thirty or seven and were back on the road again around eight. A few miles east of Brighton, near Milford I guess, a guy in the left lane started to merge into our lane and didn't check his blind spot. Hugo, the police told Nick, couldn't get out of his way and the guy hit us, pushing us into the path of the car in the next lane. There was a lot of spinning and crunching and light. And then there was black, a lot of black.

I remember the spinning and crunching and the lights and the sudden black. But other than that, I don't remember anything. So I'll let Nick tell you what he knows.

* * *

Oh, and if you're wondering, I did kiss Chad's brother, Jake, on New Year's Eve. I don't remember it though, so it must not have been as great as Dan's Christmas-mistletoe kiss.

* * *

A/N: Please review! I hope you liked it. And yes, I'm going to try to get the next chapter up ASAP.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I don't own what you recognize. And please review!

* * *

**Nick's POV**

* * *

On Sunday, January 2, 2011, I was sitting on the couch watching a movie with Daisy. We were watching the sixth Harry Potter movie because she had a crush on Daniel Radcliffe-or something like that. I only remember certain details of that night. And the ones I remember I kind of weird.

What I remember is the phone call. Officer Martin called. There had been an accident on I-96. They were being rushed to the University of Michigan hospital, which wasn't the closest hospital, "but it's the closest of the really good ones," the officer explained.

"I'll be there as soon as I can," I told him. "Tell my brother I'm coming."

"Of course, Mr. Bertram," he replied gently.

"And tell Annie I'll be there soon."

"Yes, Mr. Bertram," the officer said calmly.

I really appreciate the fact that he didn't tell me the truth during that phone call. I'm glad that he didn't say, "Well, I could tell them you're coming, but seeing as they can't hear you it won't do a whole lot of good."

* * *

They were both in surgery when I got to the hospital. Daisy didn't come with me. I'm not even sure I told her where I was going or what had happened. All that I knew was that my twin brother, the other half of me had been in a three-car accident. I didn't know how bad things were then. I didn't know how lucky I was that my brother and Annie were still alive.

We sat in the waiting room for a long time. My parents and Julia came to the hospital shortly after I did. And then Kate, Lauren, and Dan showed up because I knew that Annie would want them. And Hugo would definitely want Kate there.

* * *

But like I said, they were both in surgery. Hugo was apparently in much worse shape than Annie was. "She'll recover with little trouble," her doctor, a Clare Morgan, had told me when they brought Annie out of surgery. "She's got a few broken bones and some cuts and scrapes and bruises. And her face isn't looking too pretty at the moment. But she'll be fine in the end."

"How long will it take her to recover?" Lauren asked.

"She'll be able to go home in a few days."

"But after that, she'll need to rest. The broken bones will take a while to heal, I would guess." Lauren was persistent.

The doctor nodded. "Six to eight weeks, I should think. Your friend is a fighter."

"Annie is a fighter?" I said. "She's always so calm."

She smiled. "I'm sure she is, Mr. Bertram. But that young lady has a strong head on her shoulders. She won't give up easily. She's lost a lot of blood, but that heart just kept pumping. She won't quit."

"That's Annie," Kate said. "She's determined."

"Can we see her?" I asked.

Dr. Morgan smiled. "She's asleep, but you can see her if you want."

* * *

When we were kids, Maggie and Julia called Annie "Raggedy Annie." I hated them for calling her that, but when I saw her in that hospital bed, that name fit. Her right arm and leg were both in traction. Her nose had been broken and both of her eyes were bruised.

"She looks like hell," Lauren muttered as we stood there looking at her.

"Meh, I still think she's Sleeping Beauty," Dan said as he gently ran his hand over Annie's head. They'd had to cut her hair because it had gotten caught in the seatbelt or something. I couldn't remember the reason, just that her long hair was gone. Hugo would be disappointed; he loved her hair.

"She looks like she's been through a war," I said softly.

"She'll be all right," Kate said, sniffing softly. "She'll have a rough go of it for a while, but she'll be all right in the end."

"But Hugo won't," I said, completing her thought.

Dan glared at me. "We don't know that for sure yet. Your brother could recover completely."

"Or he could die."

Kate put a hand on my shoulder. "Have a little faith, Nick. Your brother will be fine."

I looked at her. "Do you really believe that?"

She nodded. "I love Hugo and I'm not letting him leave me any time in the next eight years."

I smiled at her. "You're a better girlfriend than he deserves."

She shrugged. "I don't know about that."

* * *

Hugo came out of surgery around dawn, I think. He was in a coma. The doctors didn't know how long that would continue or if he would ever come out. My parents stayed at the hospital. Kate stayed there. Dan took Lauren home and I went home myself. Daisy was there, waiting for me. "So your brother is dying?" she asked me as soon as I walked in the door.

I shrugged as I took my coat off. "I'm not sure yet. He's definitely not in good shape."

"Does that mean that you could take over his position at your dad's company?"

"I don't know. We haven't even started to think about that. I don't want to think about that yet."

She nodded. "I can understand that."

"I've had a long night, Daisy. I need to get some rest. Go home."

She stood up and walked over to me. "Nicky, come on."

I shrugged off her hand. "Daisy, go home. I'm serious. I need to be alone right now."

She put her hands on my shoulders. "Come on, Nicky. Let's be serious here. You love me. You don't really want me to go away."

"Get out of here. You never even asked me about Annie."

She started to simper, but I just opened the door. "Get out."

Daisy sighed and left as she said, "Call me when you need me, babes."

* * *

After calling in sick to work, I went to sleep until around noon when Kate called me. "Annie's awake. You don't have to come down here and see her or anything, but I thought you at least should know."

"How's she doing?" I asked.

"She's okay. Dan and Lauren are with her. Apparently, she's really loopy from the pain meds. Like I said, you don't have to come."

"Kate, this is Annie we're talking about. She's my best friend. I'm coming."

"Nick," she started, but then she stopped.

"What, Kate, do you think she wouldn't want to see me?"

Kate paused and took a breath. "Listen, Nick. Things have been rough between you guys lately. I just don't want to upset her."

"I won't upset her, Kate. I promise."

"How can you be sure?"

I sighed. "I just am. Now I'm coming over there, so stop worrying so much."

And then I hung up on her. I know it's not good manners, but I did it. It never occurred to me that hanging up on your brother's girlfriend isn't the world's greatest idea.

* * *

A/N: Please review.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I don't own what you recognize. And I really, really appreciate all reviewers.

* * *

I spent a little over a week in the hospital. Hugo was in a coma for all of that time, and the doctors said that wasn't a good thing. I hated knowing that he was in that coma because of me. He was only driving that night because my car broke down and I needed him. If it hadn't been for me, he would have been perfectly fine.

I didn't tell anyone that I thought like this. I knew no one would understand or agree with me. Lauren would try to talk me out of my feelings. Nick would tell me I was being silly. Kate would sigh and shake her head. Kate was sighing a lot. I suppose it was a reaction to stress. I knew that those dark days were awful for her. She had to work her usual eight-hour shifts at the Common Ground and try to spend as much time as possible with her comatose boyfriend. But she did it. She arrived at the hospital at four o'clock every afternoon and stayed until nine o'clock. She read to Hugo. She read him the newspaper and magazines. She would even read him tabloids in the home that he would find them so objectionable that he'd wake up.

"It isn't working," she told me one afternoon. "I spent five hours a day reading complete and utter shit to him, and he keeps sleeping."

"I'm sorry. Have you tried reading _The Babysitters' Club_ to him?"

She smiled. "I haven't sunk that low yet. I'm still working on _People_ and _Us_."

"Try reading Jane Austen to him," I told her. "He hates it."

She laughed. "I miss him so much, Annie. It's odd. His body is here, but my Hugo is gone. And I don't know when he'll be back-or if he ever will be back."

I sighed. It's hard to hug anyone when you have a broken arm, but I squeezed her hand with my good hand. "You've got me. And you've got Lauren and Dan. Now, I know that we're a poor substitute for Hugo, but we love you. We love you."

"But what will I do if he doesn't survive?"

"I don't know."

Kate sighed. "I love him, Annie. I've never told him that. And I can't let him die without knowing that."

"He'll be back," I told her. "I don't know how I know that, but something tells me that he'll come through this."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

Nick came to the hospital every single day. Daisy never came with him. "She doesn't like hospitals very much," he told Lauren when she asked him about it two days after the accident. "She says they freak her out."

"Yeah, well, hospitals freak me out too, but I'm still here every damn day," Dan remarked, looking up from the Scrabble game he and I were playing.

Nick shrugged. "She says they really bother her. And she and Hugo aren't really close anyway. I don't think he likes her very much and that bothers her."

"I'll remember that," Dan said as he played QAT on a triple-word.

"You're an asshole," I told him. "I'm playing left-handed and you're playing freaking QAT on a triple-word."

Dan smiled. "You still love me, Annabel. I'm wonderful, and you know it."

I laughed. "You're supposed to give me a break because I'm injured. If you gave me a break, then you'd be wonderful."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Annie, you've never wanted anyone to take it easy on you before."

"That was before I broke my leg and my arm. Have you ever tried to play Scrabble left-handed?"

"No, but it can't be that hard. It's not like you're trying to write a letter or something."

I sighed. "I'm not going to argue with you while I'm on painkillers."

"You should put that on a t-shirt," Dan said.

I laughed. "You do that. And wear it while you're teaching."

He snorted. "Ha, I'd rather put it on my coffee mugs."

"You could sell them on Café Press or Etsy. You could make millions overnight."

Dan grinned. "You haven't lost your sense of humor."

"Just because I can't walk or write and I won't be able to work for at least six weeks, that doesn't mean that I have to roll over and die."

Nick sighed. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn't. We didn't know it then, but Nick wasn't saying everything he was thinking during those days. We all knew he was worried about his brother, but we didn't know what else was troubling him. And we wouldn't know everything until a thundercloud burst open in our lives.

* * *

The accident was on Sunday, January 2. I was going to be released from the hospital on Monday, January 10. I spent the intervening time sleeping, resting, and going to occupational therapy. After I was released, I was going to stay at Lauren's parents' house because they had the best facilities for taking care of someone who had as many broken bones as I did.

* * *

The night before my release, I was in my room with Lauren and Dan when Nick came into the room, looking like he'd just run a marathon. "I need to talk to Annie. Now. Alone. It's an emergency."

Dan walked over to Nick and put a hand on his shoulder. "Dude, are you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I might have. I'm not sure yet. All I know is that I saw something and now I need to talk to Annie and I drove over ninety miles per hour on the expressway and I'm pretty sure that's illegal and I might have almost killed myself. But I need to talk to Annie now. Alone, please, I need this."

"Yeah, sure," Lauren said, picking up her own coat and her brother's. "We'll be down in Hugo's room. Let us know if you need anything."

"Oh fuck, Hugo," Nick said as he staggered to the chair next to my bed.

I knew bad news was coming. It was inevitable. But I had no clue what was coming. "Talk to me, Nick," I said as soon as Dan and Lauren were out the door. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Maggie is having an affair with Jay. I went by Mom and Dad's house to check on something before I came here and I found them having sex in Dad's office. And Sam was just sitting in the living room reading _The Wall Street Journal_ like nothing was happening. Meanwhile, in the other room, his wife was having sex, loud sex, with someone we thought we could trust."

"Oh Nick," I sighed.

"And I yelled when I saw them. And that made Sam come running. And now, it's all over. My sister's marriage is ruined. And it's my girlfriend's brother's fault. I can't believe that this is happening."

I sighed. "You suspected this back in September."

"I know, but that doesn't mean that I like being right. That's Hugo's thing."

I squeezed his hand. "Nick, I'm so sorry about all of this. I can't imagine how Daisy must be feeling about all of this."

"Daisy," he said suddenly. "Shit, Daisy, I have to talk to Daisy about this."

"You didn't talk to her before you came here?"

"No, I saw what I saw and I just freaked out and came here. I needed to talk to you. I didn't even think of talking to Daisy. I really need to talk to her."

"Um, yeah, you do. She's your girlfriend and Jay's sister. You need to talk to her. You can't just run away and hide in my hospital room."

Nick ran a hand through his hair. "I wish I could just hide from this whole mess. It's going to be a fiasco. I know it."

"Nick, this is life. You have to live in the real world. You can't just hide in your dreams or my hospital room."

"What would you do if you were in my shoes?"

"No," I said firmly. "I'm not going to tell you what to do."

"Annabel, come on. You're my best friend. Tell me what to do."

I sighed. "Nick, I can't tell you what to do here. I don't know what do."

"But you always have some piece of solid advice."

"Nicholas, go home and talk to your girlfriend. I'm not taking care of you today."

He sighed. "You're not being fair."

"How am I not being fair? You're not being fair. You're expecting a twenty-two year old orphan to solve your problems for you. I'm not an expert in family or even in you. I can't help you. Fix your own life. I'm sorry, but I cannot do it for you."

Nick threw his gloves on the floor. "Fuck you. Fuck the world. I'm going to Daisy. She'll straighten me out."

"Good," I replied firmly, determined to keep him from noticing the tears in my eyes.

"I'm leaving now," Nick said.

"Don't let me stand in your way."

Dan came in just then and saw the gloves on the floor. He picked them up and handed them to Nick. "Take these and be on your merry way."

"I thought I told you we wanted to be alone."

"I came back when I heard shouting. I was worried about Annie."

Nick sighed and took the gloves in his hands. "I'll keep you posted on how things go."

"Like hell if I care," I replied without looking at him.

* * *

Dan sat down on my bed after Nick left. "How are you, munchkin?" he asked, running a hand over my good shoulder.

I chewed on my lip for a bit. "How much did you hear?"

"Everything," he replied. "I sat just outside the room."

"You said you were going to Hugo's room."

"Lauren went."

I smiled. "Why didn't you go?"

"I was worried about you, Nan. Nick looked like he was in a mood, and I didn't want him to upset you when you're feeling like this."

"Dan, you are a god among men."

He laughed. "I thought that was Milo's job."

"Oh, the world's most devoted boyfriend," I said with a smile. "Yeah, Kate and I think he should be made a saint or something for the way he's been here every single day to see Hugo and me."

Dan grinned. "And I shouldn't? I've done all of that too."

"Yeah, but you're our friend. You love us. Milo barely knows us and he's here every day. I mean, he's better than Nick."

"How are you feeling about that whole mess?"

I sighed and ran a hand through my cropped hair. "You know that whole stupid, crazy crush that I've had on him for the past decade?"

Dan nodded, his lips pressed together. "I think I've noticed it once or twice."

"It's over. He told me to go fuck myself. I'm over him. I can't be interested in him anymore. I can't do that to myself ever again."

"You can't do what?" he asked gently.

"I can't let him hurt me anymore. I know that loving people means that you open yourself up to being hurt, but that's not what happens with Nick. It's not because I love him that I get hurt. I get hurt because he's an insensitive asshole."

I heard a sudden cough and looked up to see Nick standing in the doorway of my room. I glared at him, and Dan sighed.

"I stopped by my brother's room for a couple of minutes," Nick said, turning his gloves over in his hands. "And then I came back here to apologize to Annie. But I guess I have more to apologize for than I thought."

"Go talk to Daisy," I told him. "We'll talk later."

* * *

I went home the next day. And it was another two days before I saw Nick. I saw Nick for the first time on Thursday. Hugo had finally woken up and Nick had volunteered to take me to the hospital to see him. Milo helped me out to the car and put my wheelchair, which Dan and Milo had nicknamed Lord Voldemort, into Nick's trunk.

* * *

It was only once we were on the freeway that Nick really said anything. And when he finally spoke, it wasn't mere passing pleasantries; it was big news. "Sam filed for divorce on Tuesday. Julia wants a job working for Dad. And I broke up with Daisy on Monday."

"Why?" I asked.

"Sam filed for divorce because his wife was cheating on him. Julia wants a job because she wants to be more than Maggie's clone. And I broke up with Daisy because she started talking about all the opportunities that I would have if Hugo died. She was just sitting there talking about all of the things that we could do when we got married, things we would only be able to do if Hugo died. She just kept saying 'when Hugo dies' over and over again. And the more she said it, the more I knew that I could never marry her. I can't marry someone who sits there and plots our future based on the death of my twin brother. Just because Hugo and I don't always get along, that doesn't mean that I want him to die. I love Hugo. You know that, right?"

I nodded. "I've always figured that the bickering was a sign of affection."

He laughed. "In a very odd way, it was. But Daisy never saw that. She just saw a chance to get at my dad's money."

"And you've never wanted any part of your dad's money."

"No, I don't care about the business. I love being a librarian. I'll leave the business to Hugo. And I doubt that he'll even be going back after Christmas." Nick paused before sighing. "You guys were right about Christmas, by the way. I should have left when you did."

"That was all Hugo," I replied flatly.

"Well, you've never been a fan of Bertram family Christmas celebrations."

"No, but I wasn't the one who exploded and then instigated our departure."

"No," Nick laughed. "That was a uniquely Hugo moment."

"I'm proud of him for it though," I said. "It's been such a pleasure seeing him grow into a mature, responsible adult."

"Yeah, I don't know where that came from. It's probably your fault, you know."

I laughed. "Doubtful, that's very doubtful."

"Annie, you don't give yourself enough credit. You've been a really positive influence on my brother's life. I doubt you even realize it."

I shrugged. All this shrugging was bothering my neck. "I don't know, Nick. All I know is that I love your brother and I want what's best for him."

"You could make him a good wife."

"No, I couldn't," I said firmly. "And I'm not just saying that because Kate is one of my best friends. Hugo and I are good friends, but he's like a brother to me."

"Like you and me," he said.

"No, Nick, not like you and me," I replied. "Hugo would never hurt do something that could hurt me. He might accidentally hurt me, but he wouldn't keep doing something that he knew was hurting me."

"Are you talking about my relationship with Daisy?" he asked.

I sighed and bit my lip. "I'm not entirely sure. I think I'm talking about a lot of things that have taken place over the past several years, probably ever since I met you when we were kids."

"I don't want to hurt you, you know?"

"Nick, I know that you don't want to hurt me, but unfortunately, you have hurt me many times. You have sheltered me from things unnecessarily. You have misjudged me. You look down on me."

"You're a great person, Annie, but you always undersell yourself."

"See, there you go again. You're always talking about how I'm not living up to my potential, but you never take time to consider whether or not I'm happy in my life."

"Well, are you happy?"

"Yes!" I replied emphatically. "I am very happy, Nick. I love my jobs. I love my friends. Sure, my love life hasn't panned out yet, but I have faith that it will someday."

"You're happy?" Nick repeated.

I nodded. "I'm pretty happy. I have been for months, but you've never noticed that."

"So you're saying that I've been a bad friend."

"And that's how you've hurt me. I need a friend who cares about me and isn't constantly trying to change my life to fit his standards. I want someone who accepts my life the way that I am."

Nick sighed. "Annie, maybe we need to start over. Maybe we need to go back to the beginning and rebuild our friendship. How does that sound to you?"

I smiled. "It sounds like a really good idea."

He grinned. "Well, we're at the hospital now, but we'll have to work on that on our way home. But for now, let's go see that damnable brother of mine."

"I'm sure he'll be lovely and enchanting and thrilled to see us," I said. "Let's go in now."

* * *

So we went inside. And I'd like to note that in helping me transfer from the car into the wheelchair, Nick only banged my broken leg against the car twice and my arm against it once.

* * *

Hugo was lovely when we got into his room. He greeted us with warmth and civility. "Nicholas, my fucking bastard of a little brother, you've come to see me! How are you?"

Nick sighed. "I'm great. And there's no need to ask you how you're doing, I suppose."

"Oh, I'm great. I've got Kate here with me. I'm still alive. And they're giving me lovely painkillers. Life is good." He grinned. "Now, Annabel, how are you, my dear girl? You look quite done for. But you're still as lovely as ever to me."

I laughed. "You're alive, Hugo, and that's all I care about."

He smiled. "I know. I look like hell. You don't have to tell me."

"You don't look like your normal gorgeous self; I'll admit that."

Hugo waved a hand. He was connected to all sorts of beeping monitors and IVs. "This is all for show. It really impresses Kate."

Kate laughed. "Hugo, I could punch you for that remark. But I can't; I'm too happy to have you alive and awake."

Hugo grinned. "I couldn't die. I'm too gorgeous to die. This mug is going to get a hell of a lot older and uglier than it is right now before St. Peter gets to see it."

"You bastard," Nick sighed. "You have no fucking clue how worried we've been about you."

"You worried about me? I'm touched."

"I think Nick actually went so far as to pray for you," I said.

Hugo smiled. "You love me, Nick. Well, I'm sorry that it took all this destruction and hell-fire to bring us together, but I'm glad to know that my brother actually loves me."

Nick shook his head. "Oh man, like Kate, I'd punch you in the face if I weren't so happy that you're still alive."

"Well, we're all glad that I'm still alive, which is great. But can someone tell me how Tessie is holding up?" Tessie was his car. He'd named it after the Dropkick Murphys song.

"Tessie died," Nick said. "She gave her life to save you and Annie."

"Well, that sucks. That really fucking sucks. But at least Annie and I are still here, right?"

"You're an asshole," I said, wheeling myself next to his bed. "But I'm so glad you're still here. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Eh, you'd love, babes. It'd suck, but you'd make it. So would Kate. But Nick would probably die without me, right?"

"You're a bastard," Nick said. "You really are a bastard."

"Hey, we're twins," Hugo replied. "So if I'm a bastard, then so are you."

"Jackass," Nick sighed.

"Hey, I'm glad to see you too."

All I could do was laugh. I was just so happy to have him back. Sure he was in really bad shape physically, but he was alive. And that was good enough for me. He was still alive; I wouldn't have his death on my conscience.

* * *

A/N: Please review!


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: I don't own what you recognize. And I realize that it's been an age and a day since I updated and I'm really sorry. I have no good excuses for myself. Please just review to make me feel better about my life…and to tell me what you think of my writing.

* * *

I went back to work about a week after I got out of the hospital. I was teaching from a chair and Milo, Nick, and Dan were taking turns driving me to and from work. But I was back at work again. And that was the most important thing to me.

The accident changed my life. I almost lost my best friend. I realized that my crazy, stupid crush on Nick had gone on for far too long. And I started to move forward with my own life. I admitted to myself (and Kate, over margaritas that I probably shouldn't have been drinking) that if Dan asked me out, well, yes I would say yes. And then, I had to realize that I wanted Dan to ask me out. That was a harder step, but it was good for me.

I don't know if I had a crush on Dan. I was definitely physically attracted to him, but that was hard to avoid. Dan Cassidy was, and still is, a force of nature. He's strong, bold, opinionated, honest, and friendly. He took me to physical therapy. He took me (and my wheelchair) for long walks. And he didn't judge me. So, maybe, I did have a crush on him. He was, and still is, pretty damn incredible.

* * *

Nick, on the other hand, was oddly distant. At some level, it wasn't odd that he was distant. He was going through some major adjustments in his life. And I had recently basically told him to get the fuck out of my life. But he wasn't complying with that request. He wasn't spilling his guts or even really talking to me. But he was driving me to and from work and taking me to visit his brother.

Those drives were awkward. Nick just sat there and drove. He listened to the radio. He adjusted mirrors. And he ignored me-very carefully. When Dan was the one driving me, he was full of chatter. He always had something to say-stories about students or his plans for some ridiculous family event. He'd tell me about the _Henry VI, Part II_-themed party he wanted to throw. "The first thing we do, we'll kill all the lawyers. After that, anything goes."

Dan sang along with the radio. Nick didn't. That was my life for my first two weeks back at work.

And then, they finally transferred Hugo from the University of Michigan hospital to another hospital closer to home. The drive from the hospital to the Cassidys' house was only fifteen minutes. The drive from school to the hospital was twenty.

* * *

On Tuesday, February 1, Nick got to the school thirty minutes early. Normally, he got there after I was done teaching, but that day he got there when I still had twenty-five minutes left with Mrs. Miller's fourth-graders. And somehow, he found himself watching me teach.

I don't really remember the lesson; I think the kids were sketching. But something about it really impacted Nick because after the kids left the room, he laughed. "I finally get it. It's taken me years, since you were in high school, but I finally understand why you became a teacher."

I looked up at him from my desk where I was clearing some things. "What do you mean?"

"I used to think that you were born to be an artist, and you are. I mean, you really are a ridiculously talented artist. But you were born to be a teacher. I've never seen you teach before. But now that I have, it's like a revelation. This is what you were born for. I thought you were just blowing noses or tying shoes, but those kids love you. And they're actually learning from you. You're sharing art with them. It's amazing."

I laughed. "Nick, you're an idiot. That's what I've been trying to tell you for the past four years."

He smiled. "I guess I'm a visual learner, not an auditory learner."

"So you've been looking up Gardiner's multiple intelligences?"

"Hugo was talking about it yesterday when you were at physical therapy and I was alone with him. He was telling me about some book of yours that he had read."

I shook my head. "I can't believe your brother sometimes."

"He said he was bored one afternoon and he found this book about multiple intelligences lying around so he read it because he had nothing else to do."

"Hugo is far smarter than he lets on."

Nick nodded. "I'm really starting to realize that. I mean, I've known it for years, but I'm really starting to see it now."

"That's just because he's siting around reading the canon of classic literature in between PT and OT."

"That's part of it. But I think it's also because I haven't really noticed Nick as a person since we were about eight. I've spent the past twenty years putting my brother into a box, writing him off as a stereotype. I've known what I'm doing but I haven't stopped because I wasn't ready. But now, I have to be ready."

"Why do you have to be ready now?" I asked.

"He almost died. He almost died and you almost died and my stupid girlfriend turned out to be someone totally different than I thought she was. And now I have to wake up. I have to understand my family because that's what good people do. And I have to be a good person. But I'm not sure I remember how to be a good person."

"You know how you can start?" I asked.

He looked at me and shook his head.

"You can start by taking me to PT. And then you can take me to see your dumbass brother. And after that, you can let Dan take me home."

"Why does Dan get to take you home?"

I shrugged. "I like him. He's fun. And he takes me out for ice cream."

"I could take you out for ice cream."

"He's also better looking than you are."

"You suck."

"Like a vampire," I replied. "Now get me out of here."

* * *

Two days later, Nick came over to the Cassidys' house after dinner. I was watching TV alone in the family room. Dan's parents were in their room, and Dan was digging around in the basement for something. Kate was at the hospital with Hugo, and Lauren was in Ann Arbor with Milo.

"I come bearing gifts," Nick announced when he came into the family room, my temporary bedroom.

"What sort of gifts?" I asked. "Do you have gold, frankincense, and myrrh?"

He laughed. "Nope, I'm pretty poor, so all I could get you was some ice cream. But I got you Chunky Monkey, so I hope that helps."

I stretched out a hand. "It could. Hand it over, dude."

"Only if you tell me that you think I'm hotter than Dan," he replied.

"Meh," I shrugged as I leaned back in my recliner. "I guess I can live without the ice cream."

He held the carton out to me. "It's actually a bribe. I need to go to confession and you're better than any priest."

"Give me a spoon so I can bless you," I sassed as I took the carton in my hand.

Nick laughed and handed me a plastic spoon. "Okay, so I need to tell you something."

"What's up?"

He threw himself into a chair and sighed. "You were right about Daisy. And about Jay, you were right about the whole thing. You see things so clearly. And you were so smart. You knew that Daisy was using me. You knew that she wanted to change me. And I never saw that. I never saw that she really was Daisy Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan is impossible. Gatsby doesn't get have her. She's the impossible dream. And when all is said and done, you wouldn't want her anyway. She's ridiculous. She's gorgeous but there is nothing underneath the pretty face."

I nodded. "And that's Daisy Crawford?"

"She was fake. She was cotton candy. Dan and Hugo and Milo, they were all right about her. You guys were all right about her. And you were right about me."

"I'm sorry," I said. "If it makes you feel any better, I wish that we hadn't been right. I wish that Daisy had been the kind of woman that you would actually want to marry."

"But she was an impossible dream," Nick said before he slumped further into Mr. Cassidy's recliner. He threw his legs over the arm of the chair and sighed. "She was a dream. And now I'm alone."

"So you should go out and buy a bottle of scotch and grow a beard and write really depressing poetry while living in your brother's attic. And you could just live like that until you died at the depressing age of ninety-two. You would never have to get married or speak to another woman again. That would help you cope."

"I hate you."

I shrugged. "I've been hated before. It's not that painful."

Nick sighed. "I'm not going to become the next William Faulkner just to make you happy."

"Is that what William Faulkner did with his life?"

"I don't know, but I'm not going to just mope around for the rest of my life."

"Oh, good, that's relief. I might have to defriend you if you did that."

"Life is not Facebook."

"I heard," I replied. "I think that was Kate's status a couple weeks ago."

"When exactly did you become Miss Sass-Mouth?"

"When I moved in with Hugo," I said. "It turns out that his mouth is contagious."

"Great," Nick moaned.

"Hey, I love your brother. And I think he's helped me to become a better person."

"Maybe I should start spending time with him. I think I need to learn how to become a better person."

I looked up at him. "Nick, you're not a bad person."

"But I'm not a good one. Annie, I've been an awful friend to you lately. I was too caught up with Daisy to really notice you. And I feel like I've lost you to Hugo and Dan."

Before I could say anything, Dan appeared in the doorway of the room. "Hey, Nan, I'm going to make a Target run and I was wondering if you needed anything."

"A new cheesy chick flick would be great."

He laughed. "I'll see if I can find you a new BBC movie."

"If you buy it, I'm making you watch it with me."

Dan grinned. "Gladly, you know I love that stuff."

"And that's why I love you."

He laughed. "Hey, Nick, do you need anything from Target?"

"I'm good. Thanks," was Nick's quick reply. He didn't even look up at Dan.

"Are you all right?" Dan asked suddenly.

Nick nodded. "I'm good. Thanks."

Dan gave me a funny look. "There's something off here, right?"

I shrugged. "I think so."

My friend smiled. "I have an idea." And then he winked.

I shook my head. "Go for it."

"Hey, Nick, I think I'm in love with Nan. Will you give me your blessing to marry her?"

"I'm good. Thanks."

"Great, we're going to move to Dallas together."

"I'm good. Thanks."

I giggled. "And Nick, I'm pregnant."

"I'm good. Thanks."

Dan snapped his fingers in front of Nick's face. "Dude, did you hear us? Nan and I are going to get married. And she's having my baby."

Nick shook his head suddenly and looked at us. "What the hell are you two talking about? You're together. Annie is pregnant? Dallas? What the hell is going on?"

"You were kind of out of it," Dan said. "So we thought we'd have a little fun with you."

"We're not really together. And I'm definitely not pregnant."

"Good," Nick said. "Keep it that way. I don't want the two of you getting together."

"Well, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, I can't promise you that we won't get married, but we are not engaged at present," Dan said formally.

"Oh bother, what am I doing with you two?"

I laughed. "Oh, Winnie-the-Pooh, it's lovely hanging out with you."

"Yes, this is quite lovely," Dan remarked. "But I really need to get to Target, so if you'll excuse me, I'll be off."

"See you in a bit," I replied.

"I'm actually heading back to Ann Arbor tonight. But I'll be back tomorrow in time to pick you up for PT." He kissed my cheek. "See you later, love. Adios, Nick; it's nice seeing you."

* * *

"I don't trust him with you," Nick told me after Dan left.

I looked up at him. I didn't have words to respond to that. A soft "why" slid over my lips, but beyond that, I couldn't speak.

"I know he's your friends' brother. And he's my brother's friend. And I guess I should be his friend too. But I don't trust him with you."

"He's never hurt me, Nick. He has always protected me and been kind to me."

The unspoken words, "unlike you," hang in the air between us. We were both thinking it; I could feel those words.

He sighed. "You know what, I just need you to be my best friend right now. I don't have anyone else."

"So that's why you're here. Your dreams were crushed by your dream girl and you don't have anyone else to take care of you and rebuild your self-esteem so you want me to wave a magic wand and make it all better."

"Annie," he began.

"Nope," I replied. "I have a spine. I have gumption. I have friends. And I don't need to be your doormat."

"I'm not calling you a doormat. You're my best friend and you're the only one I know who can make me feel better about this."

"Don't you even start to think that I'll just fall into your arms now that Daisy is out of the picture. I deserve more than that. I deserve to be more than someone's second helpings. I deserve to be first choice."

"You know what?" Nick said, throwing his hands up in the air. "Forget it. You're not listening to me. You don't get it. I'm leaving. I thought you could help me rebuild my life but you're too busy worrying about your stupid self-respect to help me when my life is falling apart."

"Your life is falling apart just because you discovered that your girlfriend is a flake?" I sneered. That's right, world; Annie Price can sneer.

"My twin brother almost died. My best friend almost died. My girlfriend duped me and I had to break up with her. Maggie ran away with Jay and they're living in Tacoma or Tucson or something. Julia isn't talking to the rest of the family. Aunt Marge is blaming this all on me. My dad is a disaster over all of this. And my mom isn't doing anything except sitting on the couch with the damn dog. So yes, my life is falling apart. Maybe you're better equipped for tragedy than I am, but I don't know what to do in a situation like this."

I sighed. Maybe I was being a bitch. "You eat chocolate. You cry. You mope on the couch for a couple of days. And then you get up, take stock of the world around you, and you move forward with whatever you have that is salvageable. It sucks, but it's really all you can do."

He sighed. "I don't like that answer."

"You can drink coffee too," I offered. "Kate will give you the Common Ground's 'My-Life-Sucks' Discount on all the coffee you can drink if I tell her to."

He shrugged. "I'm not sure that coffee and chocolate can fix this one."

"Time, Nick," I said softly. "It will heal your wounds. It won't be easy, but you'll be a better person by the end of it all."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I've been through more pain than you can imagine in the past twenty-two years," I whispered.

"I don't know; the past few weeks have been really rough on me," Nick sighed.

"My mom died when I was eight. I haven't seen my dad in donkey's years."

"I don't even know what that means."

I sighed. "Nick, I honestly don't know when the last time I saw my dad was. But I was probably about two. I haven't seen Liam in forever."

"That's because he's in the army."

"That's because we grew up in different places with different families."

He shrugged. "I guess you're right."

"He's my brother. I should know why I haven't seen him."

"And you haven't seen your sisters in a while either."

I nodded. "I don't see much of my biological family at all."

"My family is supposed to be your family."

"Nick, you just told me that your family is falling apart. How can they be my family when they don't even know how to be a family at all?"

"God, my life is so fucked up."

I laughed and threw a pillow at him. "Join the club."

* * *

Three days later, Kate and I were with Hugo in his hospital room. "So," he said. "I hear the American dream is dead."

"Where'd you hear that?" Kate queried.

"Milo informed me this morning that Nick is now getting your 'My-Life-Sucks' discount on coffee, chocolate, and pastries."

I laughed. "It's a pretty good deal."

"But it isn't something I'd expect you to be giving my happy-go-lucky brother."

Kate shrugged. "I think Nick has spent the past few weeks waking up from a fairy tale. And it's been a rude awakening for him. So yeah, I think he's deserved my discount."

Hugo smiled. "You're wonderful, Katie. You live to take care of other people."

"That's why I work in a coffee-shop, hon," she replied, softly, running a hand over his. "I get to serve people and take care of them. I get to make their days better."

"Katie-love, you make my day better just by showing up."

"You flirt," she giggled, leaning against his shoulder. "You're just trying to butter me up."

"Well, I have to stay in your good graces at least until I'm totally whole and healed."

"Oh, just until then?" Kate teased.

Hugo laughed. "Or for as long as we both shall live; I could definitely live with that arrangement too."

"Is that a marriage proposal?"

"Not yet, but it's the promise that when I can get down on one knee and do the whole perfect romance thing, then I will propose to you."

"Oh Hugo, you're ridiculously delightful."

"Well, that's not really what I was going for. I prefer suave and debonair and posh and manly."

I laughed at them and shook my head. Part of me felt like a third wheel bobbing alongside their happiness, a feeling that I knew all too well from my twenty-two years of singleness. But part of me was thrilled to see them acting like themselves. Things were (mostly) normal, and I was grateful for that.

* * *

A/N: Please review! I'd really like to know what you think.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: I don't own what you recognize. Please review. I am incredibly grateful for all reviews that I get.

* * *

Hugo came home from the hospital on March 15, "just in time to celebrate St. Paddy's Day properly," he told his doctors. His doctors just rolled their eyes. They were used to his antics. They knew he wouldn't do half of what he said he would.

I wanted to give him his space to recover and readjust, so I didn't move back into the apartment for another two weeks. Nick stayed with him until I came home because he thought it was his duty as Hugo's twin. Milo thought this would make a great reality show. Kate offered to start a blog.

* * *

But the reality wasn't as funny as we'd expected. Nick, Hugo quickly observed, was a sort of lost soul. "He's lost his anchor, I think. He craves stability and he doesn't have any in his life right now. Well, there's his job, but everything else is falling to crap."

"Your poor brother has spent twenty-nine years chasing dreams and now he has to wake up and learn to walk on the ground," I replied. It was my first night back in the apartment, and we were comparing notes on the innumerable changes in our lives over the past few months.

Hugo nodded. "He needs you."

I laughed. "I doubt he'd agree with you. He'd never deign to let me teach him how to walk-literally or metaphorically."

"He doesn't always know what's best for him."

"Says the wise sage speaking from the mountain," Dan said, walking into the room carrying two bottles of beer and sitting down next to me.

I snatched one out of his hand and smiled. "Hugo is the world's only living expert on Nick."

"It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it."

"I thought Annie was supposed to be the only living expert on Nick."

Hugo laughed. "She's good, but she doesn't always understand him. I may not always agree with him, but I always understand Nick."

"You're so brilliant, Socrates," I teased.

"I prefer So-Crates, as my most excellent friends once called me."

At that, Dan and I burst out laughing. "Oh dear," I sighed. "What are we going to do with him, Dan?"

He shrugged. "Beats me, I don't know what we even can do with him."

"You can love me," Hugo replied with a smile. "And you can feed me. I like brownies and blueberry muffins."

"Dude, that's why you have a girlfriend," Dan deadpanned. "Nan and I are just here for entertainment."

"You two suck."

"So do vampires," I replied.

Hugo moaned. "What is it with you two and that joke?"

"We're pathetic," Dan pronounced. "And we spent too much time together when I was trucking Crutchy here around to see you and physical therapy and all that junk."

"Well, Crutchy is all better, so you two don't have to hang out so much any more."

"Yeah, well, I learned that I like hanging out with Crutchy," Dan returned. "In fact, I like it so much that I might try to make some sort of arrangement that might enable me to do it on a more permanent basis."

I laughed. "We could become Facebook friends."

"That, my dear girl, would require that I actually get a Facebook account."

"Drat," Hugo said. "Daniel, you just ruined the girl's plan. On the other hand, you could always just marry her."

"You make it sound so simple."

"It is simple. You get down on one knee and say will you and she says yes and that you live happily ever after or dance off into the sunset or something like that."

"Are you the voice of experience?" Dan teased.

Hugo shrugged. "I'm planning on having a similar sort of conversation with your sister in the relatively near future. I'm thinking June sounds like a good time for a proposal."

"And you're expecting a positive outcome?"

"I suppose it's a bit daring of me, but I'd like to think I stand a pretty good chance."

"Are you kidding? I think Milo might ruin your chances but other than that, you should be fine."

Hugo glared at Dan. "How would Milo ruin my chances with Kate? I thought he was with Lauren."

Dan gasped. "Oh, you want to marry Kate? I thought it was Lauren you were after. She is closer to you in age after all."

"Well, Kate and I have been dating for the past several months. I figured that it was only natural that I'd want to marry my girlfriend."

"You've only been together for like four, maybe five months."

"And I've known her since she was in middle school."

Dan sighed. "I've known Nan since she was in middle school. You don't see me trying to marry her based on that."

"I don't see you NOT trying to marry her."

"Boys," I moaned. "Shut the fuck up. Now."

"But Nan," Dan whined. "We're having fun."

"Well, find another way to have fun, please and thank you."

And then Kate walked in.

* * *

Here's the thing about Kate. Remember when I told you that Kate can be stunning in damn near anything? Well, Kate is a bombshell in skinny jeans. She puts them on and it's like they were made for her; they fit her perfectly. Of course she's a knock-out in fancy dresses and twirly skirts. But she doesn't need satin or lace. Put her in jeans and a flannel shirt, and she looks like a goddess. Hugo says she looks like Murron from _Braveheart_. He's pretty right on that account. Even Dan once commented she looks like Kate Middleton but "shorter and with more of a figure, you know."

But Kate isn't just gorgeous. She's funny and sarcastic and sassy as hell. She can be a bitch-especially before her first cup of coffee. But good lord, she is absolutely perfect for Hugo. Perfect, I tell you.

Why am I telling you this? Don't worry; I wasn't jealous of Kate. Sure, I had days when I wished that I had her hair or her ass or a boyfriend, but in the end, I liked being Annie Price.

I'm telling you this because Kate walked into that room that night, grabbed a beer out of her brother's hand, and sat down on the couch. Dan yelled at her-and then stole my beer. Hugo stole the beer from her. In that moment, life was utterly normal.

"So, what's happening around here?"

"Dan is thinking about marrying Annie," Hugo replied. "And I'm making both of their lives miserable."

Kate shook her head and leaned back against her boyfriend's chest. "Oh, honey, when are you going to learn that you have to play nice with the other kids if you want them to share their toys with you?"

"I'll learn that when Nick learns that," came the quick retort. "It's a twin thing. We have to learn everything together."

"You're full of it," I sighed.

He grinned. "And you love me for it."

I looked at Dan. "Save me. You're my only hope."

"I'd do anything for a lovely little princess like you. Just don't wear your hair in donut braids if I save you."

I laughed. "Oh man, I'm sorry, but Dan, you are not Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Dan whimpered. "That hurts."

"Some times, brother dear, the truth hurts," Kate told him flatly.

He glared at her and she shrugged. He stuck out his lower lip and she rolled her eyes.

"Nonverbal communication at its best," Hugo remarked. "This is the Cassidy family, and they are ridiculous."

"They're great," I said. "They make my life a better place."

"Dude, they make the world a better place. They make us better people. The ridiculousness is good for us. It keeps us sane."

"Does that even make sense?" I asked him.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "It doesn't really matter. What matters is that we're happy and they're happy. And we're all good people. Sure, it's odd, but we're good people. And that's what really matters."

"You think I'm a good person?" Dan asked.

"I suppose I do," my roommate remarked casually. "You've been a good friend to Annie and me over the past few months."

"And what about you, Nanny, do you think I'm a good person?" Dan asked.

I smiled. "I think you're one of the best men alive."

"Am I better than the Ideal Saint Nicholas?"

The question gave me pause. A few months earlier, my answer would have been in the negative, but that was before Nick decided to act like a fifteen-year-old boy. And perhaps, I was a little wiser since the accident.

So I nodded. "I suppose you are. I might not have always said so, but now, I am quite certain that you are his superior."

"Katie-kins, she sounds like she's been reading too much Jane Austen again," Hugo pronounced in a stage whisper.

Kate snorted. "Honey, Annie and I read Jane Austen together. We're basically our own Jane Austen book club-with Lauren, Dan, and Milo, of course."

"Yeah, doofus," I added. "You're the only one who isn't into Jane Austen."

"Besides Nick," Hugo protested.

Dan sighed. "He doesn't count right now. Right now, you're the only one of this merry band of misfits who is lame and pathetic."

"What about Nick?"

"Oh, he's lame and pathetic too, but he's not really part of the merry band of misfits. You, on the other hand, are a member of said band, but you're also lame and pathetic. It's a little irritating at group meetings."

Hugo threw a pillow at Dan who swatted it away with one hand, with the hand that was holding his beer. As soon as I saw the beer splash the pillow, I knew it was going to rile Hugo up.

"Hey now, that's inappropriate. You're wrecking my stuff. You can't just go around splashing people's pillows with your beer. That thing is not washable."

"Then I'll go to Ikea tomorrow and buy you a new one."

Hugo sighed. "I got it at Target."

"Great, that's even easier."

"You're not getting the point."

Dan threw the pillow back at Hugo. "Then explain it to me. Tell me what the point is."

"The point is that you come into my house and ruin my stuff with your beer. And I don't like it. I'm feeling disrespected."

"Do you want me to buy you a new pillow?"

"Yes, yes I do. And I want you to stop pilling beer on my stuff, got it?"

Dan nodded like an admonished child. "Fine, I'll be good from here on out, Daddy."

"Thank you," Hugo replied with a sort of seated sweeping bow.

* * *

Hugo, Nick, and I spent Easter with the Cassidy family. Hugo was there because he was dating Kate. I was there because Dan and I were, well, sort of dating but not officially dating and besides Lauren and Kate are my best friends and Hugo was there so why the hell shouldn't I have been there?

And Nick was there because he didn't want to be at his parents' house without Hugo and me. Apparently, that was scary for him. The past few months had forced Nick to grow up in ways that had been unnecessary for him during the previous twenty-nine years of his life. And now, out of the blue, he had to become a man. It was scary for him. And there was nothing that any of us could do to make it easier for him.

Easter with the Cassidy family was a blast. It wasn't much different from anything we do any other day of the year except for the fact that Dan's parents were there and we were all dressed in nicer clothing than normal. Lauren, Kate, Mama Cassidy, and I were all wearing dresses. Hugo insisted upon taking a "commemorative photo," as he called it. "This sort of moment happens so utterly rarely that we must take a picture so that we'll never forget this momentous occasion."

We, of course, had two cameras at the ready and we let Hugo and Milo take pictures. Then Lauren and I took pictures of them because all of the guys except for Nick were wearing ties. And I took some super-cute pictures of Hugo and Kate and Milo and Lauren. And, because Lauren is Lauren, she insisted on taking pictures of Dan and me. Apparently the fact that we'd only gone on a few dates didn't mean that we couldn't take pictures.

"You guys match!" Lauren said. "You're both wearing indigo. It's adorable. I love it. It's fate."

"Oh don't be ridiculous," Nick said. "Fate doesn't exist. It's just a random coincidence. Annie just happened to grab an indigo dress out of her closet this morning. And that dress just happens to match Dan's shirt. It's a coincidence. It's no big deal."

"Oh please," Lauren sighed. "These kinds of things don't just happen. It's a cosmic sign."

Nick snorted. "There is no such thing as a cosmic sign. Life is filled with coincidences."

"Oh, right, Albert Einstein," Kate said, flopping on the couch and throwing her legs up on the coffee table. "You're the international expert on all of this stuff. I thought you were a librarian. I didn't know that librarians knew all about that kind of shit."

"Katherine Elise, please do try to act like a lady," her mother cautioned.

"What did I do, Mom?"

"Do you want to start with the swearing or the legs on the coffee table while wearing a skirt?" her mother replied with a teasing glint in her eye.

Kate shrugged. "Let's start with the fact that I know all the words to the Macarena."

"My sister is a class act," Dan whispered in my ear. "We were all hoping that she'd somehow magically meet Prince William and he'd sweep her off her feet and they'd up living happily ever after."

"Instead, she's dating Hugo."

"Yeah, well, Hugo lives in Mansfield Park, Michigan, which is much closer to Ann Arbor, Michigan than London, England is."

I smiled and leaned my head against his shoulder. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer. I felt safe. And then I saw Nick glaring at me, at us. I bit my lip and leaned closer to Dan. He was good. He was safe.

Nick was confusing. He was confusing the hell out of me, and I was sick of it.

* * *

A/N: Please review! I promise that Nick will start to change. Eventually.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: I keep saying that I'll update more quickly and I really do mean it. And then my life gets in the way. I'm very sorry about that.

If anyone is still reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter and review at the end. And as always, I don't own what you recognize. And so, without further ado, here's Nick, in a desperate attempt to defend himself.

* * *

**Nick's POV**

Annie makes me sound like a jackass; she's good at that, in fact. I think I've said this before. And the thing is that I have no defense against those assertions. I was immature. Everything that had happened in the past several months had just completely blown me out of the water.

In light of the fact that my sister was getting divorced after less than six months of marriage, my brother and my best friend had almost died in a car accident, my family was falling into shambles over the various catastrophes that were besetting us, and my girlfriend and I broke up when I discovered that she wasn't what I thought she was, it might sound a bit strange to say that the hardest thing for me to bear as the months wore on was the fact that my twin brother was dating Kate Cassidy. And when I say dating, I mean dating quite seriously with a view to get married within the next few years.

I'm not entirely sure why this bothered me so much. Well, no, to be honest, I know that now. But at the time, I didn't really understand why it bothered me so much that my formerly irresponsible brother had a stable job (He started working at Wentworth Enterprises in early April.) and a serious girlfriend while I was single and working at the library.

Up to this point in my life, working at the library hadn't bothered me. It was a good job. I had good benefits. I had all major civic holidays off. I rarely worked evenings, and I usually only had to work one weekend a month. I'd been there for almost seven years. It had been great. And then Daisy belittled it-and thereby me. She made me feel insecure about working at the library while my brother was making six figures a year working in public relations. Don't get me wrong; I wouldn't want to work in PR if it was the last job on earth. But my brother and I have always competed with each other for everything, and I wasn't thrilled to see him doing so much better for himself than I was.

* * *

Memorial Day weekend was interesting. Dan and Annie were out near Grand Rapids for Chad and Mollie's wedding. I found myself spending most of the weekend with Hugo, Lauren, Kate, and Milo. It was educational for me, to say the least.

I decided to spend the weekend at Hugo's apartment. I needed a vacation but didn't have time to go on vacation, so I was spending my "stay-cation" on my brother's couch. I thought I would be able to sleep in Annie's bed, but it turned out that we all stayed up way too late, talking and drinking and laughing all weekend, so Lauren and Kate crashed on Annie's bed while Milo and I were consigned to the couches.

* * *

Saturday morning, I woke up well before Milo. My cell phone told me it was about ten-thirty, but we'd all been up until around four, so I wasn't really surprised that the apartment was silent. I stumbled into the kitchen to make some coffee only to find Kate perched the counter eating a muffin. "What's shaking, bacon?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I didn't think anyone was up."

"I've been up since five," she replied. "I had to work this morning."

"Didn't you go to bed around four like the rest of us?"

She shook her head. "I ducked out around eleven and went to bed."

"Am I at least right to think you were sleeping in Annie's room?"

She laughed. "Yep, this place is slightly closer to the shop, so I spent the night here and then hopped into work in time to open."

"When did you get back here?"

Kate shrugged. "About fifteen minutes ago, I think. I just snuck in when I got off my first shift at work. I thought I'd make coffee before everyone else woke up. Would you like some?"

I nodded. "Please, I hear you make coffee that is absolutely divine."

She laughed as she hopped off the counter. "Who told you that?"

"Hugo and Annie."

"I don't know how far I'd trust them. They're both biased."

I rolled my eyes. "They both know what they like and neither of them is prone to lying. So if they say it's good, it must be good."

"Hugo was right about you," she said softly as she grabbed a mug from a cupboard and poured a cup of coffee from the French press that she had been sitting next to.

"What?" I wasn't sure that I had actually been intended to hear her comment, but I was intrigued.

"Your brother told me once that you live in a world of absolutes. You don't do anything halfway, and things are only right and wrong, good and bad for you. You don't think about the possibility of a gray area."

"Did I just do that?"

She laughed and handed me the cup of coffee. "You did. You never considered that instead of lying about the quality of my coffee, Hugo and Annie might just have an overly positive opinion of it because they have an overly positive opinion of the maker of the coffee."

"You think Hugo has an overly positive opinion of you?"

Kate moaned. "I think your brother is biased in his opinion of the things that I do because of his feelings for me. He loves me and so is less inclined to see my flaws. He'd far rather see my strengths."

I took a sip of the coffee. "Well, this is damn good coffee."

She laughed. "I work in a coffeehouse, Nick. I better be able to make damn good coffee."

"Why do you work in a coffeehouse? Can't you find a better job?"

Kate shook her head. "Not right now, I can't."

"But you went to college, didn't you? I mean, can't you do something more than pour coffee?"

"You have a master's degree, Nick. Can't you do something more than check books in and out of a library?"

She had, in a single instant, brought back my entire relationship with Daisy. For the duration of the six, maybe seven, months we'd been together, Daisy had referred to me as "library boy" and mocked me for spending my days shelving books and checking books in and out of the library. Never mind that I did so much more than that, Daisy could never see that.

"What do you do at the Common Ground anyway if you don't just make coffee all day?"

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "I'm the manager. I make the schedule. I tell people what to do. I clean tables. I do dishes. I make sandwiches and drinks. I tell jokes. I listen to stories. I hold hands. I smile. I laugh. I nod in what I hope is a comforting manner. I make people happy."

"You make yourself sound like Mother Teresa."

Kate sighed and waved a hand. "Forget it. You wouldn't get it anyway. It's not that I want to spend the rest of my life working at the Common Ground. "

"Good, because Hugo shouldn't marry someone who is just a barista."

My brother came into the room then. "Nicholas," he said without ceremony. "Get the hell out of my house. Well, first apologize to my girlfriend and then get out. Please."

"I didn't mean to be insulting. I just don't understand why anyone would want to just be a barista for the rest of their life."

Hugo shrugged. "Go watch her work for a few hours. I think you'll get it that. And if you don't, you're a thoroughly heartless bastard."

* * *

And that's how I found myself spending four hours in a coffeehouse on a Saturday afternoon. I had a book (_Death Comes for the Archbishop_, if you actually care) and a mug of tea. Kate had a job she was trying to do. No, she was doing it. And she was doing it brilliantly. I've always known that Kate is warm and friendly. That's why she and Annie are friends. Back when they were in fifth grade, she went out of her way to make Annie feel welcome and comfortable with her. And that's how Kate is with everyone-but most especially with the people she loves.

Kate is enchanting. I'm not sure that I ever really realized that before that afternoon. Watching her work, I finally saw what my brother saw in her. She has a heart as big as the sky. She genuinely loves people. It's not like she loves this person or that person. She just loves people.

I watched her talk to regulars, getting caught up on their lives. She talked to a six-year-old girl with pigtails and a gap-toothed grin about the girl's soccer game. Kate knew that the girl played soccer every Saturday at noon.

"How does she do it?" I asked Hugo at one point.

"What do you mean?" my brother asked, looking up from his own book. Ever since the accident, my brother had become more serious and intent on living his life intentionally.

"How does Kate form connections with all of these different people without even trying?"

He shrugged. "She tries. It's a lot harder for her than you might think. She's not always thrilled to be around people, but she cares about her regulars and somehow that extends to non-regulars."

"But how does she form connections?"

"She asks questions," my brother replied. "She asks people how they are and what they're doing and things like that. She's warm and kind. And people like that about her."

"People like to be remembered," I said, recalling something that Annie had once said while complaining that she hadn't seen her biological brother, Liam, in over a year because he was always too busy for her.

Hugo nodded. "Kate has an amazing capacity for names."

"Like Annie," I inserted.

"Well, yeah, sure, but anyway, she can remember names and details. It makes people feel like they belong."

"Okay, so she's good at it and people like her. But is this really what she wants to do for the rest of her life?"

My brother laughed. "No, but as you well know, graduate school isn't free, and she has to find a way to foot that bill."

"She wants to go to graduate school?"

"She wants to get a master's degree in education and teach high school English. She's actually starting that in about a month."

"Wow, I guess I never considered that option."

Hugo smiled. "Broaden your horizons. You might be surprised by what you find."

"I keep hearing that."

"Maybe you should try listening."

I laughed. "I always thought you were the one who didn't listen to people."

"I almost died. I grew up."

I looked at my brother. "I have to grow up."

He shrugged. "Well, yeah, that's obvious. You're acting like a thirteen-year-old girl, and everyone knows it except you."

I let that comment roll over my shoulder. There are some battles that aren't really worth fighting-and there are days when Hugo is actually right about a few things here and there. Instead, I pressed forward. "I have to grow up," I told my brother. "Otherwise, I'll never be worthy of Annie."

Hugo blanched. "Of Annie? Dude, she's dating Dan. And she's happy. Being with Dan makes her happy. Don't get in the way of that."

"But I want her."

"And here comes the teenaged girl again," my brother sighed. "No matter what you want, you can't break them up. They work together. They make sense together. You can't get in the way of that."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Finally, I spoke. "I know that you're right. But I want her even though she's unavailable. And even if I can't have her, I still need to be worthy of her. She's amazing, and I've done nothing but let her down of late. I need to become a better person. And right now, she's all the inspiration I've got."

Hugo nodded. "Fair enough, I can understand that."

* * *

Dan and Annie came home Sunday night. The rest of us were hanging around the apartment, making dinner and goofing off when they came in. The first thing that I noticed was how inexpressibly happy Annie was. The second thing I noticed was how beautiful she looked. She wasn't dressed up and I don't think she'd done anything special in her appearance. She was just wearing jeans and a gray sweater; her chin-length hair was loose. She was happy-laughing and smiling. And that brought out a light in her that I'd never noticed before.

Hugo was right. Dan was good for her. She was a better version of herself with him. While I had been with Daisy, I had allowed myself to overlook Annie's best interests and when I came to my senses, I began to discover that perhaps I had never really had my supposed best friend's best interests at heart. I didn't know what made her happy or sad anymore. I had never been able to make her smile the way that she was smiling that evening.

"So," Lauren asked as soon as Dan and Annie were fully through the door. "Who caught the bouquet?"

Dan laughed as Annie blushed. "Do you really need to ask that, Lore?" he said. "We all knew that Mollie was going to throw it straight to Nan."

"And she did?" I asked, feeling a little stupid as I asked.

"Duh," Dan returned.

"So, when's the wedding?" Hugo asked.

Annie shrugged and looked at Dan. "I don't know. I've always thought a winter wedding would be nice."

"You want a winter wedding?" My voice erupted into the conversation. As soon as I spoke, I knew that my voice was too loud-and perhaps too high-pitched. But I was incredulous. "I always thought you'd want a summer wedding."

Annie looked at me and shrugged. "Really? You did? I may have said from time to time that a summer wedding would be more practical since I'm a teacher, but I've always dreamed of a winter wedding. And I think that I could get a week's vacation from work if I really needed it. But no one said that I was getting married in the next nine months or anything."

"Didn't you just say that a winter wedding would be nice when Hugo asked you when the wedding would be?"

"I didn't mean that I was going to get married this coming winter. I just want to get married in the winter some day. I don't know when."

"Oh," was all I could say. I was really starting to feel like an idiot.

* * *

If you've been paying attention, you know that somehow I did end up married to Annie-and if you're wondering, we did in fact have a winter wedding. But you're probably wondering how on earth she ever ended up ending her relationship with the utterly perfect Dan Cassidy and marrying the thoroughly imperfect Nick Bertram. I think the answer to that lies somewhere between grace, fate, and destiny.

Annie and Dan split quite amicably in August of 2011. Apparently, they decided over dinner one night that they were better as friends than as lovers. I'd like to think that I had something to do with this, but I didn't. She didn't break up with him because she thought that she and I could actually have a successful relationship. She ended their relationship because she didn't see it producing a satisfying marriage. Apparently, while they were at least superficially happy when they were together, perfection is boring, and they both wanted more opportunities for growth and change-and maybe a little excitement-in their lives. And I give them credit for walking away from their romantic relationship and managing to remain really good friends.

But it took a little bit longer for me to win Annie's heart. And the only reason that ever happened was because of a long conversation I had with Kate on Labor Day.

* * *

Labor Day weekend found me living with my brother in a house that he owned. After he started working for Wentworth Enterprises, my brother decided that he wanted to move out of the apartment in the building that our dad owned. And then, he decided that he wanted to buy a house. Publicly, he declared this to be a step towards responsibility and maturity. But one night over drinks, he confessed to me that it was a bigger step. It was a step towards asking Kate to marry him and start a family with him in that house. I think Kate knew that, but she didn't let on if she did. I know Annie knew what it really meant because she decided not to move into the house with him but rather to move into a townhouse with Lauren and Kate.

So, in mid-July, Hugo bought a two-story Victorian on Cranford Drive in Mansfield Park. I gave up my bachelor pad condo and moved in with him to save on expenses; I planned on staying there as long as he let me. And after that, hopefully, I would be getting a place with Annie-but that's getting ahead of myself a bit.

* * *

But back to Labor Day weekend…that was a big weekend for everyone. That was the weekend my brother asked Kate to marry him. Obviously, she accepted. At some point between Memorial Day and Labor Day, I had realized that she would have been a fool to say no to him. They really were perfect together.

That was the same weekend that Milo and Lauren announced that they were moving in together-and they were having a baby. That was a total shock to all of us-most of all Dan. It took him a little while to get used to the idea that his best friend and his sister were going to be living together AND having a baby together. I think the phrase "But you haven't even been together for a year!" was repeated approximately seven hundred times. But I might be underestimating that.

You didn't have to be a genius to figure out that Annie and I were both going to be without roommates in the relatively near future. Now, perhaps, you might have suggested that we move in together. That's definitely what Kate suggested. Well, no, that's sort of what Kate suggested.

I woke up around nine on Labor Day, made a pot of coffee, poured myself a cup, and took it and a book (_Brave New World,_ if you were wondering) out on the front porch. I was still there when Kate arrived around ten-thirty.

"Let me guess," she said. "Your brother is still asleep."

I looked up from Huxley and shrugged. "I'm not sure. I haven't heard him yet though."

She nodded. "Mind if I sit?"

I waved a hand. "Go for it. There's coffee in the house if you need some."

She smiled. "Don't mind if I do. I'll be back in a second."

* * *

When she came back, Kate settled herself in the hammock and, not for the first time, I understood why Annie could never decide if Kate was more like a swan or a cat. She was utterly graceful at all times; that much was certain.

I smiled at her. "How was work?"

"Quiet," she replied. "It was nice."

"How's grad school going?"

She sighed and shrugged. "School starts tomorrow. I'm not sure how I'm going to balance student teaching, my classes, and still trying to work at the Common Ground. Mercifully, your brother is willing to either have a small, simple wedding or wait two years to get married."

"Hugo is willing to wait?"

"I know," she said. "It's a total shocker. But I'm not willing to wait. I think we're going to have a really small, really simple wedding next summer. Your parents will probably hate it, but your brother says he's okay with that."

I laughed. "Of course he is." Then I asked another question. "So, when are you planning on moving in here and when do I need to be out?"

"Next summer," she replied. "I can't live with your brother while I'm student teaching. And I really can't jump ship on Annie."

"She won't complain if you do."

Kate gave me a pointed glare. "That's why I can't do it."

I smiled. "You're great for her. She needs people like you in her life."

"I want what's best for her."

"So do I," I replied. "I just wish I knew what that was."

"You know, it wasn't too long ago that you thought you knew exactly what that was."

I laughed. "And then she almost died and my eyes were opened. Now, I just want to see her live her life to the fullest and I want to be a part of that life in whatever capacity I can."

"Then marry her."

I choked. I literally started coughing and I could not breathe. When I finally collected myself, I stared at her. "What did you say?"

"Marry her. You've grown up this summer, and I think for the first time in your life, you're ready for her."

"I'm not sure I should start out by marrying her right off. I think we've had enough shocks this weekend."

"Okay, then ask her out on a date. Go slowly. It'll be good for you two."

"I'll think about it."

"Good," she replied. "Remember, go slowly. You both need slow. But try it out."

* * *

If you're wondering, I did take her advice. Not immediately, but I did. But I'll let Annie tell you that story. For one thing, it's a story in which she doesn't make me sound like a jackass. And for another thing, when she tells the story, she shows how much I grew and changed from the time when I was dating Daisy to the day that I informed my father that I didn't care what he thought of my choice of wife, took Annie by the hand, and walked out of the house.

* * *

A/N: Please review!


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: I don't own what you recognize. And I'm terribly sorry about the length between updates, but such is the price of a full-time job for me.

* * *

September 17, 2011 was a noteworthy day for two reasons. It was my first solo job as a wedding photographer; Lauren wasn't feeling well and arranged for me work alone. I had a suspicion, one that would later be substantiated, that would be happening much more frequently as her pregnancy progressed.

But the seventeenth was also the day that my car broke down at eleven-thirty at night. I was a little more than half an hour from home and it was raining. So, when my car shuddered and died on an exit ramp in Novi, I did what I always did in those sorts of situations. I pulled out of my cell phone and called a tow truck. Then I called Hugo.

Hugo told me that he was busy "but don't worry about it, Annabel. I'll take care of you. I'll be there ASAP.

Forty minutes later, as I watched the tow truck loading my car, Nick arrived. He was wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and glasses. I immediately knew that Hugo had dragged his brother out of bed to avoid going out in the rain.

The first words out of my mouth were "Hugo woke you up to come get me, didn't he?"

Nick nodded. "But don't worry about it. It's fine."

"I'm going to kill your stupid brother," I replied as I picked up my purse and bags.

"Don't kill Hugo. It's fine. He was with Kate. I don't mind coming to get you."

"It's midnight, Nick. Your brother shouldn't wake you up at midnight if he's already awake."

"Annie, it's no big deal. I don't mind." Nick's voice was firm and steady.

I shrugged as I climbed into his car. "Okay, but we'll argue about this later."

Nick laughed. "If you insist."

* * *

Nick drove me to the mechanic and then home. "If you want, I can take you to work on Monday. And give you a ride home," he added. He was rubbing his face, an old habit that I knew was a nearly futile attempt to stay awake.

"That would be nice," I said. "I might ask Kate if I can borrow her car or share it with her. But if that doesn't work out, I'll let you know."

"Sure thing, just give me a call some time tomorrow. I have to work all day tomorrow, so just call me or send a text. I don't have to be at work until eight on Monday and I'll be done around four. Like I said, just let me know."

"I will," I told him. "And Nick, thanks for all your help."

He nodded. "Don't mention it."

* * *

Kate and I couldn't share her car. When I had proposed the idea, I had forgotten that she had to be at her student teaching placement at seven-fifteen and didn't get home until well after eight in the evening. So, I texted Nick and asked him if I could take him up on his offer of a ride to and from work.

His response was immediate. "Of course, and maybe we could grab dinner together afterwards?"

I hesitated before replying. I didn't want to seem desperate or needy. But I also wouldn't mind spending time with my occasional best friend. So, about an hour and a half after receiving Nick's text, I replied that dinner sounded great.

* * *

When Nick knocked on my front door, he had a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin in his hands. "I thought you'd need a morning pick-me-up," he said as I mumbled my thanks. "I know you've never been a morning person."

I tried to smile but yawned instead.

Nick chuckled. "Let's just get you to work, Annie. You don't need to say anything."

I smiled and climbed into the car.

* * *

Nick picked me up around five-fifteen, which had allowed me to get some grading and lesson planning done. A few minutes after he pulled out of the school parking lot, a question popped into my head. "Nicholas, how the heck are you a morning person?"

He laughed. "To quote Lady Gaga, baby, I was born this way."

When I stopped laughing, I shook my head. "Nick, you're beyond belief. That's something I would expect your brother to say."

"Annie, Hugo isn't the only member of our family who has a sense of humor. You just have to realize that I'm just as funny as he is; I just don't talk as much."

I sighed. "That's a relief. You're brother is so talkative that we all need to rest our ears before we can listen to much else."

He smiled. "But we do love him no matter how chatty he is."

"At least Kate loves him."

"We'd better hope she loves him. It appears that she'll be stuck with him for life."

"I'm glad that they've found each other. No matter what I've said or done in the past, I do want my brother to be happy. And I'm so glad that she makes him so happy."

I nodded. "I always knew that you two loved each other."

Nick laughed. "Sometimes, you're a real romantic."

"Romanticism makes better pictures sometimes."

That elicited another laugh from my friend. "I don't believe you. I think you're full of it."

"Maybe your brother is starting to rub off on me."

He shook his head. "I've suspected that ever since you two started living together last spring."

I adjusted the sleeves of my sweater. "Aren't you afraid that he'll rub off on you now that you live with him?"

"Meh, if he hasn't rubbed off in the past twenty-nine years of being his twin brother, then I doubt that anything will change in the next twelve months."

I smiled. "I'm glad that you two are getting along so famously now."

Nick laughed. "We've done it before. We were best friends until we were about eight. And now, we're adults. We've both done a lot of growing up in the past few months."

I looked at him. "You just as much as him, I should think."

"Maybe I had more growing up to do than he did in the first place."

"Nick, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself," I began.

He raised his hand and shook his head, effectively cutting me off. "No, Annie, hard on myself is exactly what I should be. I need to see myself clearly as I am. And when I look back at my actions over the past few years, I don't see things of which I am proud."

"You haven't done anything that's morally wrong."

He snorted. "That's no defense, Annie. I dated Daisy. I should have seen through her. I should have known she was all wrong for me. You, on the other hand, dated Dan. He wasn't bad for you."

"He just wasn't The Right One. He was more interested in pulling my pigtails than in kissing me senseless and doing what bunnies do with me."

"I kind of want to blush right now."

"Why?"

"You're talking about sex."

I rolled my eyes. "Nicholas, I am twenty-three years old. I am allowed to talk about sex if I want to."

He sighed. "I guess I have to realize that you grew up somewhere along the way."

"I should hope I grew up," I replied firmly. "I'm sick of arguing with you about this."

"You know why I have a hard time believing that you grew up?" he asked, an edge of anger creeping into his voice. "It has nothing to do with you, Annie. It's about me. I don't think I've grown up as much as I like to think that I did. I dated Daisy. I pushed Jay at you. I was like Nick in _The Great Gatsby_. I wanted to believe an impossible myth. I was unbelievably infantile about the whole thing. I was a child. And I treated you like you were a plaything. It's hard to admit that you're more mature, more responsible with your relationships than I am."

I looked at him, just looked at him with my mouth hanging open. And then he pulled up in front of my house.

"Annie, what's with the look on your face? Seriously, are you all right?"

"I can't believe you're saying this. You're actually admitting everything that Hugo and I thought about you last fall. We kept talking about how you were living in a fantasy world and how we hoped you would finally wake up to the real world." I gasped and put my hands over my face. "Oh, Nick, I didn't mean to say that. I mean, yeah, we did talk about you behind your back, but I-I, I don't know what I'm trying to say. But I'm sorry that we talked about you behind your back."

He laughed. "Annie, it's fine. It's very, very fine. I know that you and Hugo weren't happy with me last fall. I know I made some dumb decisions and I hurt you. Now can we please go inside and eat dinner?"

"Oh fine," I replied.

* * *

My car ended up spending over a week in the shop. I could have gotten a rental, but Nick graciously volunteered to drive me everywhere I needed to go and I frugally accepted his offer.

Ultimately, I found this to be one of my better decisions in life. Nick and I renewed our friendship. We hadn't really talked since before he broke up with Daisy. But now, spending fifteen minutes here and twenty minutes there with him in the car-and eating dinner with him every evening, I was learning so much about him. The car accident had served as a wake-up call to him. Maggie's divorce had terrified him. "I never really knew how screwed up my family was until January. I think Hugo had known for years, and I know that you knew. But I had always had blinders on when it came to my sisters' behavior. I knew they were far from perfect. But I never thought that Maggie had the capacity to be so hurtful inside of her."

"What do you mean?" I asked. We were sitting in my living room on Thursday evening after dinner at Panera-Nick's treat.

"Think about what she did to Sam," he replied. "She probably never really thought about Sam's feelings. Heck, Hugo and I just thought of him as a beige wall that was just there. And I'm pretty sure that Maggie just saw him as a rich beige wall that would always be there no matter what stupid shit she did."

"And then he filed for divorce when he found out that she was being unfaithful," I said, finishing Nick's thought.

He nodded and took a sip of tea. "I give him major credit for that. It had to take major balls for him to look my self-absorbed sister in the eye and tell her to get out. I didn't think he had it in him."

"But you were pretty sure that she was cheating on him even before they got married," I said.

"True, but I didn't think he'd ever walk away from her. I figured he was dumb enough to stick with her no matter what happened."

I smiled. "But he wasn't."

Nick shook his head. "Nope, he turned out to be more of a man than I gave him credit for. And I like that about him. I like he turned out to have a bit of chutzpah underneath the vanilla icing."

"What would you have done if you'd been in his shoes?"

"I don't know, and I hope I never have to find out. But I'd probably leave the bitch the way he did."

"What if you'd really loved her?"

He shook his head. "No, love is a two-way street, and I'd only ever marry for love. I would never get married unless I knew that we could live together happily and peacefully all the days of our lives. Sam didn't know that when he married Maggie, and that was a mistake on his part."

"But how would you know that?" I asked.

Nick shrugged and sighed. "I don't know how I know, but I know that I would know. Where there is a true equality of spirit and affection, then there is also an awareness of such a mutual affection." Then he laughed. "God, I sound like a Jane Austen novel right now."

I laughed too. "I suppose that happens to the best of us, especially to library boys."

"Oh man," he sighed. "I can't believe that I just let Daisy call me that in public all the time. What was I thinking?"

"That she had big boobs," I replied.

"Did you pick that one up from my brother?"

"Him or Dan," I confessed. "The two of them and Milo were pretty sure that you were only interested in Daisy for her looks and body. In fact, they all thought that if you ever really noticed her brain, it would turn you off to her."

"They were right," he admitted. "I eventually did notice her brain and that was the end of the relationship."

I pressed my lips together. "I'm sorry. I wish that hadn't happened to you."

He shook his head again. "It's not your fault.

"But I'm still sorry that it happened."

Nick laughed. "That's one of the things that I love about you, Annie. You always want to make people feel better or offer them sympathy even if you had nothing to do with their troubles. And you rarely have anything to do with anyone's troubles."

"But I hate to see anyone hurt," I protested. "Even if I didn't hurt them, I hate that they are hurting."

He smiled and squeezed my hand, the heat from his tea mug still in his hands. "You have the kindest heart I've ever known. You're almost too good, but you're not too good. You're just wonderful."

"I'm just trying to make the world a better place. I want others to have a better experience of the world than I've had, and I'll do anything that I can to make that happen."

"Oh Annabel," he sighed. He so rarely called me Annabelle except when he was truly being affectionate. Hugo tossed my full name around flippantly, but Nick held it in reserve for those dark moments when he felt that I needed to be reminded that I was loved. And no, I didn't come up with that idea on my own. He told me that once when I was about seventeen.

"I'm just one person," I said. "But I really do want to make the world a better place. I want to adopt children because no kid should feel like I did when I was eleven and no one wanted me."

Nick grimaced. "For years, I tried to argue with you on that score, but now, I know that you're right. My family didn't want you. But I'm so glad that you fell into our lives. You've made me a better person. And you've definitely been a positive influence on Hugo."

"And you two have meant the world to me. Also, if your family hadn't taken me in, I never would have met Kate and Lauren, and that would have been a tragic loss for me."

"And Hugo never would have met Kate. And that would have been an enormous tragedy. They were meant to be together."

I smiled. "I love that you've become such a strong proponent of their relationship."

He ran a hand over his face and smiled. "You know how much I hate all the sappy crap that people say about relationships in romantic comedies. But she really is the Meg Ryan to his Tom Hanks."

"I think she's more the Katherine Heigl to his Josh Duhamel," I replied. "They're both a little too splashy to be the Ryan-Hanks duo. But they've definitely got that Heigl-Duhamel in _Life as We Know It_ thing going on."

Nick laughed. "Oh Annie, what would I do without you?"

"You'd be bored," I replied flatly. "But somehow, you'd survive."

"No, I'm serious. I really don't know what I'd do without you."

* * *

I didn't really realize what he was trying to say for many weeks after that. But a few things changed in late October that began to open my eyes to a few things I'd never noticed before. On October 29, Lauren and I were scheduled to photograph the wedding of Alessandra Beraducci and Parker Seton-Wagner. Both of their families are important in local society, and this was a big gig for us. We were both looking forward to it because we knew it could be our big break and totally change our photography careers.

And that was why I was totally surprised when Lauren called me two days before the wedding. "I can't do it," she told me. "I can't do the Beraducci wedding."

"Why?" I asked. "This is our dream."

"Milo's parents are coming into town from England and I have to meet them. Saturday is the only time that works for them. I tried to explain to Milo. He tried to explain to them. But they're being assholes about this, and I can't do the wedding."

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked her. "I can't do this alone. We promised them two cameras."

She sighed. "I don't know. Ask Kate or Hugo. Or if they're busy being smooch-faced, ask Dan; he's pretty decent as a second camera."

"I'll call him," I said accidentally letting my anxiety and frustration seep into my voice.

"I'm so sorry about this, sweetie," she replied. "I really am. And I'll make this up to you. I promise."

* * *

Kate and Hugo were, in fact, busy although not being smooch-faced. They had to go to a function for Wentworth Enterprises, Hugo's employer. And Dan had a date with a girl named Cassandra Austen. "You'd really like her," he assured me even though I'd never even remotely suggested anything to the contrary.

"You are aware that Jane Austen's sister's name was Cassandra, aren't you?" I asked.

"Yeah, but that's okay. I'm an English professor. I can handle those sorts of weird quirks in my life. That's why I've had a crush on Anne Hathaway for years. That name just keeps me coming back for more."

I laughed. "Have fun."

"Call Nick if you're desperate," Dan replied. "I'm reasonably certain that he knows how a camera works."

* * *

"Yeah, I know how a camera works," Nick said when I called him. "But how desperate are you?"

"I'd lick your shoes clean if it meant you'd help me."

"Eww," he replied. "My shoes are gross. Please never lick them. Ever."

I laughed. "Okay, I won't lick your shoes. But I am desperate."

"I'll get paid for this, right?"

"Of course," I replied.

"Then I'm in," he replied.

"I need you to look nice," I told him.

"I always look nice," he protested.

I sighed. "Look really nice, please and thank you."

* * *

Nick helped me photograph the wedding. I wasn't thrilled about the idea. It was highly unorthodox to use someone who had never done any sort of photography that didn't involve his cell phone, a disposable camera, or random touristy shots purely intended to make his mother happy for a wedding of this importance. But like I said, we were desperate.

And then things went brilliantly. I don't know how else to explain it, but the job went beautifully. The lighting, the setting, the colors, the people involved-everything was gorgeous.

But the most important part of the evening was a picture that I took. It was a photo of the bride and groom after the ceremony. As I recall, it was actually a candid, but I might be wrong about that. The important thing about it is that the bride's father loved it. In fact, Sal Beraducci loved it so much that in early January of 2012 he had an enormous canvas print made of it that he hung in his office. The photo attracted a great deal of attention, and Sal made a point to always tell anyone who asked about the photo that it had been taken by Annie Price of Lauren Cassidy Photography. He also gave a fair number of people my business card.

* * *

However, that picture wasn't hung for almost three months after the wedding. And in the almost three months between October 29 and January, Nick continued to amaze me. He was actually being helpful in the planning of his brother's wedding. He sent me flowers (daisies, my favorites) at work for absolutely no reason other than "you have a beautiful smile and I know that parent-teacher conferences aren't exactly known for making me you smile," as the note said.

He made me dinner every now and then. He even watched chick flicks with me. It was different from the way our friendship used to be. And I liked it.

But Kate had editorial comments that were confusing me and stirring up old feelings that I was trying to squelch. "He's trying to woo you, you know," she told me a few days before Thanksgiving. "The flowers, the movies, the dinners, the boy is in love with you and he's trying to win you over subtly."

* * *

A/N: Please review!


	19. Chapter 19

December 6 was a crazy day. It was a cold, windy Monday. The kids were whiny. And I had a staff meeting that went long. When I got home, all I wanted was some comfort food and some cuddling.

* * *

What I found was Nick and a pot of bouef bourguignon. And while Nick is not generally known to be cuddly, that night, he proved himself to be a man of many surprises. Months earlier, Kate and I had given the twins our spare key. It had been given for emergencies. Nick, however, on that particular evening had used to gain access to the house to surprise me with dinner, flowers, and a movie. And yes, I know; if that's not a date, I don't know what is.

He was making bouef bourguignon when I found him in the kitchen. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Making dinner," he replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world to go into a house where you did not live and make dinner.

"Uh, why? Couldn't you do that at home?"

"I can make dinner at home, but I can't make it for you. And I wanted to make you dinner."

I smiled. "Well, I appreciate it. It's been a long day. I was planning on fish sticks and popcorn for dinner."

Nick laughed. Apparently, Hugo once ate that for dinner when he was in middle school, and it remained a family joke until there were no more family jokes, only twin jokes. Somehow, the Bertram family has fallen to pieces over the past year, but as the family fell, the twins have united. It strikes me as something that belongs in Greek mythology or in a comic book. One thing died and something else, something more astounding, rises in its place. And the abounding twin love between Hugo and Nick blows me away constantly.

But for me the past part of the resurgence of the Bertram twins is the resurrection of my friendship with Nick. As I've said, we grew closer that fall. And interestingly, as he grew closer to his brother, he and I grew closer. I loved it. I loved Nick. It was a mostly platonic love, but there was moments every now and again when I would look up and see him with different eyes, with eyes that were a more mature and jaded regeneration of my former crush.

I had one of those moments as I took my shoes off that evening. I was exhausted. I was so tired that I could feel in my bones. In fact, halfway through taking off my left boot, I crumpled to the floor. But when I looked up, I saw Nick standing over a pot of chili on the stove, fresh corn muffins on the stove and a bouquet of roses in a vase by the sink, I felt that I could spend the rest of my life like this.

But despite Kate's reassurances and Lauren's implications and hints, I wasn't sure that it was at all a possibility. I didn't know if he was at all interested in me, and I wasn't sure that I could live happily ever after with a man who had hurt me so often in the past.

"I'm going to go get changed," I told Nick. "Can dinner wait a few minutes?"

"Sure thing," he replied. "Go get comfortable. You look exhausted."

"I have a case of the Mondays," I explained with a faint smile.

"You teach elementary school," he said. "You're a saint as far as I'm concerned."

"Nick," I asked as I started for the stairs. "Do you not like the kids?"

He shrugged. "I'm sure I'll like my own, but I've never really known any children well enough to like them or not like them."

"But do you actually want to have kids if you ever get married?"

"Yeah, I think so. Maybe I'd want like one or two. You?"

"I think I'd want like three or four," I replied.

"Interesting," he said. That was all he said. He gave me no indication of whether or not he could ever see himself having more than two children. But then he wasn't, as he admitted, used to children. I, on the other hand, worked with children all the time. I loved children-even when they were driving me nuts.

* * *

When I came back downstairs, I was wearing pajama pants and a Hope College sweatshirt. It was a sweatshirt that Kate was continually reminding me was hideous. It wasn't that Kate had anything against Hope College; she just hates the color orange. And I'll admit that it isn't the best color for me. But the sweatshirt was a Christmas present from Mollie during our sophomore year of college and it's big and warm and comfy. And I like it.

"Ready for dinner?" Nick asked when I came into the kitchen.

I nodded. "Dinner and a warm mug of tea, if you don't mind."

He smiled. "Your wish is my command."

"How was your day?" I asked, as I leaned against the counter.

He shrugged. "Calm, the library is a pretty peaceful place on Mondays."

"Lucky," I replied. "I had kindergartners at nine o'clock this morning. That is the farthest thing from peaceful I can think of."

Nick grinned. "And yet, you still keep going back every Monday."

"I love my job. It might sound odd or crazy, but I love my job."

"That's good," he replied. "It's good to love your job."

I looked up, surprised at a tone of unhappiness in his voice. "Nick, do you love your job?"

"I like it," he replied. "It's a good, safe job. It isn't too hard. I get to spend time with books and with people I like."

"But is it what you really want to be doing with your life?"

Nick pursed his lips and stared down into the pot on the stove. "I think so. I mean, there are things about my life that I'd like to change, but I don't think that I want to change my job."

"What do you want to change?"

He took a deep breath and squinted. "Okay, bear with me here. You know how I've said that I regret dating Daisy and all of that?"

I nodded. "Yeah, we've talked about it."

"Okay, so what if I told you that I don't regret it anymore?"

I cocked my head sideways. "I'd be surprised."

"What if I told you that it was because of that experience that I realized some things about my life that I've never really realized before?"

"I can see that as being possible, but I'd like you to explain this in more detail."

Nick smiled. "You're so darling."

"Just explain. And I think dinner is ready too."

* * *

As he served the bouef bourguignon, Nick was silent. I knew he was thinking deeply, so I let him be. We took our dinner to the living room and settled ourselves-Nick on the couch, me in my favorite chair. I started to eat, wondering what was going on with Nick. He seemed very pensive, caught up in his own world almost.

When I was halfway through my plate of food and Nick still seemed lost, I looked at him. "Dude, are you all right?"

He looked up at me with the oddest expression on his face. I almost wondered if he was physically ill. And then he said the most amazing thing. "Annie Price, I think I'm in love with you. And I think that I can't live without you. And the only reason that I don't regret being with Daisy or the car accident back in January is that those two events are the reasons that I know that I love you and I need you."

"What?" Sure, Kate and Lauren had suggested the idea to me, but I couldn't believe that this was actually happening. This had to be a dream. This could not be reality.

"I love you," he said. He was speaking as if this was the most basic thing in the entire universe. "I love you. I need you, Annie Price. And while I'm sure that this has already been said in some cheesy chick-flick, I need you and I don't need anyone. But I need you. I need you to spend the rest of your life with me."

"Where is this coming from? Are you sick?"

Nick stared at me. "Are you really surprised that I'm saying this?"

And then it all hit me. Everything that he had been doing for the past three months-flowers, cooking for me, movie nights-it all made sense; Nick was in love with me. All of my dreams were coming true, and now the only question that remained was whether or not I still wanted this.

* * *

A/N: I know it's short, but I'm mostly trying to gauge interest in the story. If people are still interested, I will do my best to finish the story. So please let me know if there is still interest in it.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: I don't own what you recognize. And I'm sorry that updating takes forever. Real life consumes my time.

* * *

I didn't answer Nick right away. I couldn't. Flowers, dinners, helping me with photography jobs when Lauren wasn't up to it-those things were all well and good. He was a good guy. He was more than nice to me. He looked like Benedict Cumberbatch. He loved me. I'd had a crush on him since I was about eleven. He had blue eyes, and I'd always wanted to marry a man with blue eyes. But I didn't know if he was really what I wanted. Did I really want to date and (probably) marry him?

I honestly didn't know. I didn't know if I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.

However, I also knew that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life alone. And at the age of twenty-three, I was terribly afraid that I was going to spend the rest of my life alone. What would happen if I didn't date Nick? Would I end up alone?

And what if Nick was The One? What if he was the man I was supposed to be with? What if he was my soulmate? He knew me. He understood me. He said he loved me. Maybe I was supposed to agree to go out with him and end up marrying him. But I wasn't sure.

* * *

So I did what any shy young woman who was tremendously emotionally conflicted. I called my best friend and begged for a girls' night with ice cream, wine, and whining. And of course Hugo came right over with ice cream and Pinot Grigio. He also brought Red Vines, chocolate, and a copy of _When in Rome_. "This is my disaster-relief kit," he said as he dumped the contents of the Target bag out on my table. "Kate advised me via text message as to everything I would need to make you thoroughly happy-or at least so buzzed that you wouldn't realize that you're not happy right now."

"This looks suspiciously like the post-break-up kit you brought when Dan and I split up even though I wasn't that brokenhearted."

"But you might be brokenhearted right now?"

I shrugged. "Stressed is a better word."

"So my darling brother told you about his feelings, huh?" Hugo said.

I nodded. "Monday night, he just spilled everything."

"I know. He told me. He's told me a lot of things lately. He talks about you a lot."

"You never told me."

Hugo sighed. "He was pouring his heart out to me, and I had to keep that in confidence. Do you think I tell Kate what you tell me in strictest confidence?"

"No," I mumbled.

"Kate doesn't even know that I let you use me as kissing practice once upon a time. I'm definitely not going to tell you all of my brother's hopes and fears."

"But he talked to you about me."

"Oh yeah, believe me," Hugo sighed. "He talked. He talked a lot."

"So he likes me?" I asked. "Like, he's attracted to me and he wants to be with me?"

"Oh holy Moses, I wish you two could actually just talk to each other."

I moaned. "But we can't. So you have to help us."

"I work in public relations, Annie. I'm not a therapist," he snapped back. "It's not that I don't love you two. It's not that I don't want you guys to be happy. But I want you two to have open, honest communication. And I'm not sure that you two have ever had that."

"Okay, so we're seriously fucked up. What else is new?"

"My brother has finally realized his love for you."

"Realized?" I repeated.

"Realized," Hugo said flatly. "My stupid jackass of a brother has been in love with you since you were about twenty."

"And you're just telling me this now?"

He sighed. "Do you think that it would have been a good idea to tell you this when you had that ridiculous crush on him?"

"No."

"Exactly," he replied. "So I kept my mouth shut. And I never told him about your crush because I didn't think that would be wise. I'm smarter than you look, you know."

I threw a pillow at him. "You might be smarter than you look but you are not smarter than I look."

"You're mean."

"Thus says my best friend."

"I'm just trying to do what's best for you," Hugo said firmly.

"And you think I need to talk to Nick."

"You could also throw a baseball at him."

I winced. "That's a bad idea. I throw baseballs the way that Justin Verlander knits."

"How do you know that Justin Verlander isn't secretly a talented knitter?"

"It's possible, but I doubt that he is. But that's not the point. You need to talk to my brother and explain things to him."

"I could write him a letter. That would be easier."

Hugo rolled his eyes. "No, you're going to talk and he's going to listen. And then, he's going to talk and you're going to listen. Or you can do it in the other order. That part is up to you. But there will be talking and listening even if I have to force it to happen."

I sighed. "Hugo, you're impossible."

"No, I just want what's best for you."

"And how do you know what's best for me?"

Hugo sighed. "Munchkin, I've known you since you were like ten years old. I know what you want and what you need. And I want you to be happy. I think that I know what's best for you."

"And what's that?"

"Chocolate ice cream, white wine, and my brother," he replied with a smirk.

"You're ridiculous."

"I know," he said. "But to be serious, let's be honest here. You and my brother have seen each other through a lot. You've seen each other in good times and bad. And you're still friends. You still care for each other regardless of what happens. You've been through rough patches but you've come out of them better and stronger. Your friendship is stronger now than it was before Daisy. You have grown and changed. But you're not growing apart. You're not changing into people who shouldn't be together. Each of you is becoming more and more the other's ideal."

I was blown away by that speech. "How long did you spend practicing that?'

"Believe it or not, it was impromptu."

I smiled. "So you're saying that your brother and I have staying power."

"Yeah, you two have amazing endurance. I think you two could go for at least another sixty years."

It was then that I made a confession that had been building my soul since my mother's death more than a decade earlier. "I don't want passion or romance or fire. I want staying power and commitment. I want someone who will be with me always and no matter what."

"Then my brother is the man for the job, as it were," Hugo replied. "He'll make a big fuss if he thinks that's what a girl wants. And he can be a tremendous romantic. But really, he just wants to be needed and admired."

"How did my life come down to this?" I asked. "How did my life evolve into this situation?"

My best friend shrugged his gorgeous head and smiled his knee-melting smile. "God alone knows. But I know this. You and my brother are real friends. And that can be the basis for something amazing."

"And I love him. And I'm attracted to him."

"And that's how he feels about you. So it's a perfect match."

"Why does this all feel like something out of a Victorian novel rather than my life in the twenty-first century?"

Hugo shrugged again. "All I know is that I want my brother to be happy and I want you to be happy. And for whatever reason, each of you wants to be with the other one. So I want you two to work together to make each other happy."

* * *

Before I could make any decisions on that front, I needed to talk to my best girl friend. After listening to Hugo, I desperately needed a woman's perspective on the situation.

* * *

So, Friday night, Kate and I had a girls' night in. When I questioned the logic of taking her away from Hugo on a Friday night, she laughed. "He'll live without me. He lived without me for almost thirty years. He can handle a couple of hours now. Besides, he'll just play video games with Nick until two in the morning and never even notice what he's done until it's too late to do anything but regret it and go to bed."

I smiled and decided to enjoy the opportunity to spend some time with my best girl friend and roommate without any men or work interfering.

Kate listened quietly, a glass of Pinot Noir in hand, as I detailed my conversations with Hugo and Nick and my own personal reflections on both conversations. She didn't say anything, just nodded and made soft noises to indicate surprise or frustration at various junctures in my tale. When I finished my story, I sighed and heaved myself back into the couch cushions before taking a healthy gulp of Pinot Grigio.

Kate smiled and set her wine glass down on the coffee table. Then, as she toyed with the cuffs of her sweater, she smiled at me. "So basically, your only real reason for not wanting to accept Nick is because you don't want other people to judge you."

I sighed and fidgeted with the sleeves of my Hope College sweatshirt. "I hate being judged. And I always feel like people are judges me."

"Who judges you?"

"I don't know," I began softly. "Sometimes I feel like you might be or Hugo or Lauren or Mollie or Nick."

"Well, I don't think Nick would judge you in this case."

I laughed. "No, I suppose not."

"And he's the only person who really matters in this, right? In the end, it's really just between you and Nick. It doesn't really matter what I think or what Mollie thinks or what Lauren thinks. And it sure as heck doesn't matter what Hugo thinks."

"Don't ever tell him that," I joked.

She smiled. "I tell him that frequently. It's good for his ridiculous ego to hear at least once a day that he is not the Second Coming of Jesus, Zeus, and Elvis all rolled into one."

I snorted. "I doubt that he thinks he's Elvis."

"Annie, some days, I think that he thinks he is the greatest thing that ever happened to the human race."

"Oh, I'm sure he does."

"And some days, that confidence needs to be taken down a notch. That's what I'm there for."

"I thought that men needed women to encourage them and help them."  
"Men like Dan and Nick need that. But Hugo is another story entirely. He needs to be reminded that like Julius Caesar he is but a mortal."

"So what would you recommend that I do?"

Kate smiled. "Tell Nick the truth. Tell him everything."

"Everything?" I repeated with the voice of a twelve-year-old boy.

My friend's smile blossomed into a scheming grin. "Every single thing. Tell him everything."

* * *

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think.


	21. Chapter 21

Nick and I had our inevitable conversation the day after I talked with Kate. I texted him around eleven in the morning and suggested that we get lunch. "Busy at work," he replied within two minutes. "Library is a tomb. You should swing by with sushi."

"Gladly," I replied. "Be by around one."

* * *

I needed to shower before I saw him. I couldn't see Nick looking like I had just rolled out of bed…which I had. After showering and putting on a carefully contemplated outfit, I went to pick up shrimp tempura and tea for Nick. Nick might say that he wanted sushi, but he wouldn't actually eat raw fish. That was too risky for him. Hugo, on the other hand, would eat raw fish. I'm pretty sure that he once ate raw eel while on a business trip to Japan. The mere thought of that makes me want to vomit in my mouth. I'm more like Nick than I am like Hugo. But that's not the point here.

At exactly one o'clock, I strolled into the library, trying desperately to look casual as I carried Nick's lunch. Why was I bringing him lunch at work? Because I felt bad about not responding to his profession of love earlier; that's it, plain and simple.

* * *

"You look nice," Nick said in his deep, gentle voice when I came up to his desk on the second floor of the Mansfield Park Public Library. He kissed my cheek. "How are you, Annie?"

"I'm all right. How are you?"

He shrugged. "I'm doing well, but I'm bored out of my skull."

"Are you playing that Gatsby video game again?" I asked, motioning to his laptop.

He smiled and shook his head. "No, I'm doing some research."

"On what?" I set the bag with his lunch on the desk and leaned against it slightly. I was tired.

"I'm trying to find the perfect Christmas present for my parents. After last Christmas, I want to do something really nice for them."

I smiled at him. "You're too good, Nick."

"That's what Hugo said when I told him about it. He said that I should just let bygones be bygones and act like last Christmas never happened. But I want them to know that I still care about them."

In retrospect, that conversation-especially that comment-has haunted me for more than thirty years. He wanted to give them the perfect Christmas present and let them know that he loved them, that he cared about them. Sure, the previous Christmas hadn't been as dramatic for him as it had been for Hugo, but I understood how it had impacted him. And he wanted to make things right. He wanted to make sure that his parents understood how much he cared about them. Instead, he ended up never giving them that present that he had spent weeks looking for, and we never saw his parents again after that night. After that Christmas, we didn't even go near their house again until after his mother died. He had such hopes, and they were dashed. And everything changed.

But in the moment, we knew nothing of the future to come. I just thought it was nice that he wanted to let his parents know that he loved them, and I told him so. We left it at that.

"When can we talk?" I asked abruptly.

He looked at me and I was struck for the millionth time by his resemblance to Benedict Cumberbatch. I loved his chiseled face, and I adored the confused look in his eyes. "Aren't we talking now?"

"Talk-talk," I said. "Like, really talk; when can we have a real talk?"

He shrugged. "I get off around six. We could have dinner together and talk."

"Do you want me to make something?"

"Sure, if you want."

"I like to cook."

He smiled and his eyes crinkled. "I know. I just don't want to force you to do anything you don't have time for. I could just pick up noodles or something."

"It's fine."

"Okay," he replied simply. Then he looked up at me. "Are we good? Are things good between us? I know I kind of startled you the other night."

"We're good, Nick. And we'll talk tonight. I promise."

"Excellent. I'll be by around seven."

* * *

Kate was with Hugo for the evening. "Good luck," she had told me before leaving. "Just tell him the truth. He deserves that."

Nick showed up at seven o'clock on the nose. He was as punctual as an atomic clock. He was wearing jeans and a dark blue sweater. "I brought wine," he said, holding out a bottle.

I smiled. "I made chicken alfredo. I know you prefer marsala, but I was in the mood for a cream sauce. Plus, I am wearing a white dress, and you know what I'm like." I had put on a hand-knit dress that Kate had made me in an exchange of services-the dress for her engagement photos. I was wearing the dress in the hopes that it would give me luck-and as a symbol that this dinner, this conversation was important. This wasn't just another dinner with my sort-of best friend.

He smiled. "Luckily, I brought white wine. I know you prefer it."

"Well, it matches my dress perfectly."

Nick's smile grew.

"Now let's hit the kitchen," I said. "Come on."

* * *

I served dinner, and Nick poured the wine. It was, I realized, a quiet domestic scene. I hoped that it boded well. After three bites of pasta, I dropped my fork and looked at Nick. I had prepared a speech, an introduction for this conversation. But in his presence, I had forgotten everything. And so I blurted nine simple words out as I picked my fork up off the floor. "I've had a crush on you since middle school."

"I know," he replied simply. "Well, I knew that you had crush on me. Hugo told me when you were about fifteen."

"I'll kill that traitor," I muttered.

Nick smiled slightly. "I figured you'd grown out of it. You dated other guys. You dated Dan. And then you seemed mad at me, really mad at me last winter."

"I hated you after the accident," I confessed. "I think I hated you then because you weren't the person that I expected you to be."

"I wasn't the person I expected me to be," he confessed. "As I've told you before, I let you down a lot in the past year or so, especially around the time of the accident. I keep thinking that I should have been able to prevent it. I think that every morning when I see Hugo wandering around the apartment without his shirt. I see those scars on his chest, and I think that I should have been able to stop that from happening. I should have been able to stop you two from getting hurt."

"But how?" I asked. "You're not God. I used to think that you were a god, but it's been a long time since I let go of that illusion. How would you have been able to have stopped the accident?"

"I should have been the person you turned to when you needed Hugo last winter."

"And then you would have been the one in the coma," I said flatly.

"I keep thinking that I could have saved you. I should have saved you."

I sighed. "Nick, have you ever talked to anyone about this?"

He shook his head. "I've never said anything to Hugo. I've never told him that I feel guilty because he almost died. I was supposed to be your best friend, and I was too busy with Daisy to be there for you. And I'm not just talking about the day of the accident. I should have been there more for the two of you. I should have been a better brother."

I shook my head. "You're not perfect. Even I know that."

He hung his head as if he was ashamed. "I know that, but I should have been more. I should have done more."

I smiled. "Nick, I don't want you to feel guilty about this. You shouldn't feel guilty about it. You're a good person. And yes, you made mistakes. But I forgive you. Hugo has forgiven you. So let yourself be at peace about this."

He still wouldn't look at me, and I took his long, bony hand in my small one. "You need to forgive yourself," I persisted.

"How?"

"Recognize that we love you," I replied. "Accept our forgiveness and our love."

"And then what do I do?" he asked, confusion shrouding his voice.

"Move forward with us."

While that might not have been the best possible moment, that was the moment when he chose to broach the issue that had been circling around us. "If I did that, in what capacity would I be moving forward with you?"

"With all of us or with me in particular?"

"With you, with you, Annabelle," he replied.

"In whatever capacity you chose," I said simply. "I care about you with all of my heart. I love you. And while I'll freely admit that I love you against my own better judgment, I do love you and I want to be with you."

"You want to date me?"

I nodded. "I've realized that you're a good man and you're what I'm looking for out of life. I can't promise you fire and lightning but I can promise that I'll do my best to make you happy. I know it's not the most romantic thing in the world, and I can understand if you don't want it. But I'm willing to offer you myself as a companion and lover."

Nick smiled. "And I'm willing to take that deal on the condition that you allow me to try to win your heart."

I shrugged. "I'm willing to accept that challenge."

"Remember, my dear, that I have never met a challenge that didn't inspire me to rise."

"I'll consider myself warned."

Nick took my hand in his. "I'd marry you on the spot if I thought you'd go along with it."

I smiled almost unwillingly. "But that's not what I want. That's not what I'm ready for. I need to get used to the idea of us."

"What do you mean?" he asked, sitting up straight as thought waiting important news.

"I spent so many years so desperately in love at you, and then I was mad at you. And now I need to get reacquainted with who and what you are. I love you, and I always will. But I need to fall in love with you. I need to view you as my equal rather than some god on a pedestal. And I need to fall in love with you as my equal."

"Very well," Nick said. "But I am entirely confident that you will come to love me as your equal."

"And why is that?"

"Because as crazy and sappy as it might sound, I genuinely believe that you and I are meant to be together."

"Well, we'll just see what happens." I wasn't about to make any fantastic declarations, but I had no idea what changes Christmas would bring us.

* * *

A/N: Please review! Hopefully, I'll have more soon.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: I don't own what you recognize. And I appreciate all of your reviews so much.

* * *

During the next week, Nick didn't send me flowers. He didn't write me sappy love letters. He didn't take me out for romantic dinners. Instead, he spent every night that week helping me build and decorate the sets for the school Christmas pageant. We were in my classroom for four or five hours every night that week designing the backdrops and sets for the program. He produced takeout every night and kept me entertained with stories from the library and by playing recordings of old Abbot and Costello radio shows. We had a great time, probably a better time than I was expecting.

"So should I plan on coming to see this show?" he asked me on Thursday night.

"Why would you?" I asked.

"Well, I helped with the sets and I'm dating you, so I thought maybe I had to or something."

I laughed. "Nick, I don't want to go to this. I love my kids, but I hate sitting there and listening to them all performing while their parents are sitting in the audience convinced that their child is the next big star. I would never make you suffer through that unless it was your kid up on stage."

Nick grinned. "I was just wondering. I've never dated a teacher before."

"It's okay," I replied with a smile. "It's a good question."

"Are you one of those teachers who says that there are no stupid questions?'

"What do you think?" I challenged him. "You've known me forever. What do you think I think?"

"Of course you say that," he said. "You want all of your students to feel valued and important. You probably roll your eyes at some of them internally, but you would never let them see any of that on your face or in your actions."

"Are you calling me a goodie-two-shoes?"

He laughed. "Yes, yes, I am."

"I figured as much. I mean, your brother has been calling me one for years."

Nick smiled. "Hugo was never much for subtlety."

"He means well," I replied in an almost defensive tone.

"True, but he's never been one to beat around the bush. He just says what he's thinking regardless of the effect."

"I always knew that about him, but I really realized it when I lived with him."

"I bet that had to be an education."

"Actually, I found it refreshing. It was nice to be with someone who was really and genuinely honest. Kate has told me before that it's one of her favorite things about it."

Nick nodded. "I can see that. Kate is a very direct person. It's a rare trait in a woman, and it's a good one. I've gotten to know Kate more in the past few months than I ever had before, and I think she's magnificent."

"She's delightful."

"She reminds me of Audrey Hepburn or something. She just oozes confidence. She knows who she is and she isn't afraid of it. In fact, I'd wager that she isn't afraid of anything."  
"I don't think she is," I replied with a smile.

"She's a Portia," he added.

"Portia?"

"_Merchant of Venice_," he replied.

"Of course, I wasn't thinking."

He waved it away. "It's okay."

"So, who would I be if I was a character in Shakespeare?"

"Hermione," he said without hesitation.

"The queen from _The Winter's Tale_?"

"That's the one."

"May I ask why?" I would have thought he would have pegged me as Hero from _Much Ado_ or someone else more romantic.

"It's your quiet strength and firm dedication," he replied. "You're almost fearless, but in a radically different way from Kate. While Kate is imposing, you are a silent hero. You wait patiently for your reward no matter the cost."

I smiled. "I like that description. Now, if you were a character in Shakespeare, who do you think you would be?"

"That's hard, Annie!"

"You don't know?" I asked.

He chewed on his lip for a bit. "Well, I mean I have thought about it before. But you are right there. You're asking me and you're expecting an answer now."

"If you don't know, that's fine."

"No, I want to give you an answer."

I took another bite of pad almond and chewed. "You can get back to me later if you want."

"Would it be too cliché or cutesy to say that I kind of feel like I'm Leontes from _The Winter's Tale_? I think that I can relate to his conflicted nature as well as his determination to do the right thing. I love doing the right thing. I want to do the right thing. But sometimes when I'm trying to do the right thing, I end up screwing up and doing the wrong thing. I don't know why, but sometimes my good intentions end up leading me astray. And I think that's a lot like Leontes. Does that make sense?"

I was blown away. "Nick, in all of the years that I've known you, I've never seen you demonstrate so much insight into your own personality."

"I realized recently that I try too hard at certain things. I dated Daisy because I thought that I should. I was trying to be the perfect Bertram son. I totally missed that I can't be the perfect son that my parents want, but I can be the best possible version of me."

I smiled at him. "You're growing up, Nick. You're becoming this amazing person and I'm just totally blown away by who you're becoming."

He grinned. "At least some of this is motivated by you, Annie. At the risk of sounding horrifically stereotypical, you make me want to be a better person."

I blushed. "I'm just me."

"And you are wonderful, Annie."

I blushed and looked down. I have never taken praise well. I didn't know what to do, so I just ate another bit of pad almond. When I looked up, Nick was smiling at me. "You're wonderful," he repeated. "You're amazing, and people never tell you. You do all of these amazing things for other people and you never get any recognition. You deserve more than you allow yourself to have."

"You've said this all before." I was kind of dying inside. I hate having people notice me. I just want a quiet, anonymous existence. I think that Nick knows this, but he thinks that I deserve to be noticed. I'm not entirely sure he understands that I'm shy.

"That only makes it more true."

"But I don't want to be noticed. I don't like people making a fuss."

"Then we'll have people write you letters of appreciation. Would you prefer that?"

I smiled. "If the notes were anonymous so I didn't feel like I had to write thank-you notes, then that would be fine."

"Oh, Annie, you're darling. You really are adorable. And I wish you could see you the way that I see you."

"I'm just me," I replied. "I'm nobody special."

Nick sighed and walked over to me. "Oh, Annie, you are infinitely special, and I would gladly spend the rest of my life proving that to you." Then, he pulled me into a hug against his bulky wool sweater. As he held me against his slender but strong chest (yes, I did notice this) I realized for the first time in my life I felt completely and entirely safe.

* * *

The Christmas program was the Friday before Christmas, a mere two days before Christmas itself. Winter break officially began after that. And after the program was over, I went over to Hugo's house where he, Kate, and Nick were waiting for me. Kate had also brought me sweats to change into. "I knew you'd be exhausted," she said as she handed over the bag of clothes. "And I knew you'd want to be comfortable."

After a quick change in the bathroom, I settled myself on the couch next to Nick who quickly offered me a glass of white wine. "How was it?" he asked.

"It wasn't terrible," I replied as I pulled my legs up onto the couch and leaned against him. "I am so glad that Susan has more work to do on these things than I do. And I'm even more glad that it's over and now I can enjoy my break."

"Wonderful," he breathed into my cheek. "I'm looking forward to that too."

I smiled and snuggled up against his firm frame. I was wrong when I'd thought that being slender mean that this mean couldn't be cuddly. He didn't have the most comfortable chest in the world-or even in the room. But he was devoted to me. And that was something amazing. That was something that girls would wait their whole lives for. And I had it-with my best friend.

* * *

"I love Saturdays," Nick announced the next day. "They're so comfortable."

"Comfortable?" Hugo asked. "How can a day of the week be comfortable?"

"They're cozy."

"He doesn't usually have to work on Saturdays," I explained. "So he likes them. He has a similar feeling about federal holidays. Nick likes his freedom to do as he pleases."

"Apparently, my brother believes that freedom is sitting on a couch with a cup of coffee and his girlfriend."

Nick shrugged. "I don't hear the girlfriend or the coffee complaining."

"In fact, both the coffee AND the girlfriend find him to be quite nice, Hugo," I said. It might be worth noting that was the first time I called Nick my boyfriend.

Hugo rolled his eyes. "You are both ridiculous. I think you might deserve each other."

"Let's hope that Mom and Dad see things that way tonight," Nick said.

"We're telling them about us tonight as in this evening tonight?" I asked looking up at him with what was probably fear in my eyes.

"I don't see why we shouldn't. They are my parents and your godparents."

"But they're Thomas and Elizabeth," I protested. "They're Thomas and Elizabeth Bertram."

Nick made a face. "You're right. Maybe we shouldn't tell them about anything. We'll just let them know what's going on when it gets to be our tenth wedding anniversary. Actually, maybe we'll wait until our twenty-fifth."

I glared at him. "We are not doing that. That's ridiculous."

"Besides, Dad will probably be dead by the time you two have been married for twenty-five years," Hugo tossed in.

"Hugo," Kate said in a warning tone. "That's not nice."  
"Neither is Dad."

I sighed and Nick rolled his eyes. "Hugo, be good."

"That's no fun, St. Nicholas."

"We're going to tell your parents about us," I said. "We'll do it on tonight. It's Christmas Eve after all, the only night all year when the whole family will be together."

"Nick, I think that Annie might finally be coming out of her shell."

"And it's probably mostly your fault rather than mine," Nick returned. While his tone was slightly joking, sincerity was evident in the soul of his words.

Hugo didn't reply with sass. He didn't make a funny or sarcastic comment. Instead, he bit his lip and smiled at his brother with nothing but respect and love in his eyes.

* * *

That evening found us at the Bertram family house for the annual Christmas Eve dinner. Hugo, Kate, Nick, and I went over for dinner. After dinner, we went to Midnight Mass, which was actually at eight o'clock, and then we came back to the house for opening presents. Dinner was fairly mundane. Nick's parents were there. His sisters were there. Julia had a boyfriend with her, a Jack Hudson that the twins knew vaguely from high school. Maggie was being weird-even for her, but all things considered, that wasn't really that surprising. Mrs. Norris was there in all of her vindictive glory. Nothing was really too unusual-until after Mass.

When we came back to the house after Mass, Nick and I made coffee while Hugo, Kate, and Julia sorted out Christmas gifts. Nick and I had agreed to exchange presents at the Cassidy family celebration the following day because "it feels more like a real family there," Nick had said.

* * *

After the coffee and cookies were served and the gifts opened, Uncle Tom finally commented on what had been sitting in front of his nose all evening. "So, Nicholas, do my eyes deceive me or are you actually dating Annie Price?"

Nick smiled at his father in a manner that could only be called proud. "Why, yes, I am dating Annie."

"May I ask why?"

"You may ask, but I don't really feel obligated to explain myself at the moment."  
"I am your father," Tom Bertram replied in a decidedly chilly tone.

Nick nodded. "I am well aware. However, I don't think I really need to explain to even my own father why I would choose to date a kind, generous, loving young woman. After all, you and Mother have often said that we should treat Annie as a member of the family."

"One does not date members of one's own family," Tom snapped.

"Granted," Nick said coolly. "However, dating may lead to marriage, and if I married Annie, then she would become a real and true member of the family."

"Why would you want to marry Annie?" Elizabeth Bertram asked. "She's nobody special."

"I think she's someone incredibly special." My boyfriend put a firm arm around my shoulders. "I think Annie is amazing, and I think she would be a great asset to the Bertram family."  
"She's just someone that we saved from the foster care system in a desperate moment. She isn't worthy of being a Bertram." Tom was looking at his son and not at me.

"Are you aware that she is right in front of you? She is right here, and she has a name. Her name is Annabel Price. And she is wonderful."

In the middle of this, I was overwhelmed. I was sure that I had to be red as a beet with embarrassment. I looked at Hugo and saw encouragement. And Nick was taking my side.

"Her mother was little more than a whore," Tom Bertram sniped. "She had five or six children with at least three or four different men."

"And so therefore Annie is tainted by association? I thought that Annie's mother was Mother's friend. Doesn't that mean that Mother is also tainted by association?"

"You have a choice to make tonight, Nicholas. You can either end your dalliance with Annie, or you can leave this house forever. If you do that, you will never receive anything more from me while I am alive."

Nick had a look that was almost terrifying to me. He looked like some sort of ancient warrior. "I'm sorry, but I'm not willing to abandon Annie just because of your outdated ideas of class. If you aren't willing to accept Annie as my girlfriend and my probable future wife, then we will have to leave this house immediately."

"It's your choice," his father replied in a clipped tone that betrayed only anger. "But if you choose Annie over us, you're a bigger fool than I thought you were."

"Then good-night and good luck, Mother, Father. The Victorian Age has ended, and I do not need you to choose or approve of my wife," Nick said flatly. "Come on, Annie. We're going now. And we'll be leaving the gifts behind. We don't need them."

I stood and followed him mutely. He led me by the hand into the foyer where we found our coats. From the living room, we could hear shouting-Nick and their father. The words weren't clear, but the message was. If Nick left, then so would Hugo. And then Hugo fired a volley at his father that we could hear. "The Bertram twins stand or fall together. If you disown Nick, then you disown Hugo with him."

I couldn't be completely certain in the dim light of the foyer, but I was fairly certain that I saw the shimmer of tears in Nick's eyes at that comment. At the same time, Kate came out and joined us. "He'll be another minute, and then we can go."

A moment or two later, we all heard Hugo yell, "You know what, asshole? Fuck you. Fuck you and fuck this whole family. Fuck you all to hell. Take all of your damn social rules and fuck them to hell. Nick knows what he wants, and he isn't afraid of you. You're a fool and a fucking coward. I'd tell you that I hate you, but hating you would require too much energy. I'm just fucking ambivalent towards you. I hope that someday you understand what a fool you have been. You could have been so much more than you are, and you have chosen to stay mired in your shit that protects you from the real world. And I almost feel sorry for your crazy old ass. So fuck you, asshole. I'll see you in hell." There was a pause and then Hugo said, "And I'll be taking this with me. You don't need it."

He stormed out into the foyer carrying the gifts that he and his brother had given their parents for Christmas. "Let's go, gang. Let's make like bats out of hell."

* * *

It wasn't until we were back at Hugo's house that he realized that he'd left his coat at his parents' house. "And I don't give a damn. I'd rather buy a new coat than go back there and get a new one."

* * *

Just before midnight that Christmas, Nick told me that he planned on asking me to marry him someday soon. "Not yet, but someday soon, I will. I love you, and I would give anything to spend the rest of my life with you."

I smiled at him. "And I know that now. I know now that you really would give up anything for me. And Nick?"

"Yeah, sweetie?" He was sleepy and a bit bleary; it was utterly adorable. He was adorable.

"I love you, Nick. I love you with all of my heart and all of my soul."

"I love you too, Annie. You mean everything to me."

Then I kissed him. That was the first time that I had initiated a kiss with anyone.

* * *

A/N: Please review!


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews. I don't own what you recognize.

* * *

I can tell you from personal experience that unrequited love is one of the worst things in the world. But requited love? Oh, my friends, that is lovely. No, it isn't perfect. But it is good. It is very good. And while Nick is not a saint despite his brother's nickname for him, he is a good man. And I love him dearly.

I had spent most of my life looking for a family. My dad abandoned me. My mom died. My brother and I lost contact with each other. We tried to stay in contact, but that was mostly out of duty rather than actual emotion. I had completely lost touch with my sisters. The Bertrams had never really taken me into their hearts. By the time I was fifteen, I had become convinced that I would never have a real family. The Cassidy family and Mollie's family had given me some semblance of family during my high school and college years.

But when things finally fell into place between Nick and me, then I had my family. I had Nick, Hugo, Kate, Lauren, Milo, Dan, Mollie, and Chad. That was my family. Most families are formed by blood. Mine was created by love.

That family became the most important thing in my life; thirty-five years later, it still is the most important thing in my life. Like all families, it had (and still has) its imperfections. But it was based on love. I had people who cared about me and supported me.

* * *

The new year, 2012, brought us many changes. That January, Sal Beraducci hung the portrait I'd taken of his daughter and her new husband in his office. Sal gave my business card to everyone who admired the picture. He liked to make people look at it. And because of that picture, I started getting more and more phone calls from people who wanted me to photograph their weddings or senior pictures or family photos. My photography career was taking off. I couldn't give up teaching for photography yet, but that day was coming quickly.

And Lauren's career was dying down. Nick once casually proposed the idea that perhaps I would one day have my own photography business. I think that he perhaps had more of an awareness of Lauren's hopes and plans for her future. Her baby was due in mid-March and she wanted to be a mother more than anything. "I'll keep working, sure," she told me at a business meeting we had in late January. "But I don't want it to be my primary focus. I want to be a mama."

"But what about money?" I asked.

"Milo will take care of us," she replied simply. "And I'll still work sometimes."

"Do you want to ever marry Milo?" I asked. "I know you guys said you don't feel like you have to get married before the baby comes, but do you ever want to get married? Or are you guys happier without that?"

Lauren shrugged. "I'm not sure. I mean, we love each other and I think the baby is a pretty solid symbol of our commitment to each other. But at the same time, I've always dreamed of getting married. I do want to get married and be married. But not yet; I don't think that Milo is ready to get married yet."

"Are you ready to get married?"

"Yeah, but I don't think he is," she replied, resting her hands on her belly. "I'm not entirely sure that he is the marrying type."

* * *

Later that evening, I decided to ask Nick what he know about Milo. "Basically, what I really want to know," I confessed after a lot of useless questions. "Is he the marrying type?"

"No," Nick replied flatly.

"That was definitive," I said, a little surprised at how quickly and firmly he had replied.

He smiled. "I've known him vaguely through Dan for years, and I've never seen him as the marrying type."

"But he and Lauren are having a baby."

Nick shrugged. "I think he's committed to the kid forever."

"You think?" I repeated.

My boyfriend sighed. "Okay, I know. I know for a fact that Milo is very committed to the baby. But I don't think he's ever going to ask Lauren to marry him."

"What if she asked him to marry her?"

He laughed. "I don't know what he'd do. He might be so surprised that he wouldn't even know what to do."

"I just want her to be happy."

Nick smiled. When he smiles, he always looks even more like Benedict Cumberbatch than he already does. "You and happiness, Annie," he sighed. "You always want everyone to be happy."

"Everyone deserves to be happy," I replied. "And Lauren definitely deserves happiness."

He shook his head. "She does deserve happiness. I just don't know if Milo is the person to give it to her in the long run."

"Dan thinks he is."

"But Hugo thinks he isn't."

"And we have an impasse," I said.

"Just remember that the Bertram twins are superior to everyone else on earth."

"You're weird," I told him.

He grinned. "That's why you love me."

"Nah, I just love you because you look like Benedict Cumberbatch and so being with you allows me to fulfill my dreams of marrying him."

Nick stuck his tongue out at me. "Annie Price, sometimes you're too much for color television."

"I'm wonderful," I replied.

"I think living with Hugo made you a little too fearless."

* * *

Harper Marie Copeland-Garcia was born on March 14, 2012. She was perfect, beautiful and healthy. Her birth didn't destroy her parents' relationship. In fact, I think that it drew them closer together. But on the other hand, Harper's birth didn't give Milo the push towards marriage that Lauren was hoping it might. However, the birth of her younger sister, Marlowe Elise, eighteen months later did give Milo the sudden urge to get married. I'm not sure what it was, but somehow holding Harper and Marlowe at the same time made Milo want to marry their mother. It probably didn't hurt that in the eighteen months between Harper's birth and Marlowe's birth, Hugo and Kate got married and so did Nick and I. Dan firmly believed that after seeing Hugo and Nick happily married, Milo realized that marriage wasn't as scary as he had once thought it to be.

* * *

Kate and Hugo were married in July of 2012. It was an absurdly hot summer, but thankfully they had chosen a church with air conditioning for their wedding venue. Nick was the best man, and I was the maid of honor. Lauren was the photographer; she had volunteered for the role. Kate taught high school English for three years after that, but then took the next ten years off from teaching to be a stay-at-home mother to my three nieces, Isla Elise, Elspeth Joy, and Eloise Cassidy. She did eventually go back to teaching once the girls were in school, but she wanted to be as involved in her children's lives as she could. She understood that Hugo didn't want his children to grow up to be just like him. And they didn't. They had a far better childhood and spent far less time in therapy as adults.

As for Nick and me, I'm not exactly sure that he ever proposed to me. He did give me a ring, but he never got down on one knee or anything. We just gradually shifted from "if we ever get married" to "when we ever get married" and then from "when we ever get married" to "after we get married on December 22." And then, we got married in a small ceremony in Hugo and Kate's living room. Lauren was our photographer. It was the last wedding she ever photographed professionally. After that, she sold the business to me and went on to moderately successful career writing and illustrating children's books.

* * *

I continued working as an elementary school art teacher until the summer of 2014. Up to that point, I was able to work as a teacher during the week and a photographer on weekends, but the summer of 2014 brought a few changes to our lives. It was that summer that Nick and I welcomed our first child, Justin Nicholas. With Justin's arrival in our lives, Nick and I decided that it was time to stop splitting myself between teaching and photography. Even before his arrival, I found myself traveling for work far more than I had ever expected. And so Annie Price-Bertram Photography really took off. Something that had begun as a local business, just for the metro Detroit area, turned into traveling around the country and eventually even out of the country to photograph weddings and other important events. And that gradually evolved into photo shoots for known magazines including _Vogue_, _National Geographic_, and _Time_.

Nick never left the library. He worked there until he retired at the age of sixty-five, a few months after his mother's death. I occasionally joked that he loved the library more than he loved me, but I knew that wasn't true.

We had four children-Justin Nicholas, Daniel Hugo, Briony Charlotte, and Evelyn Anne. They all grew up to be wonderful people, and we are immensely proud of each of them.

Dan married a novelist named Katharine Dunaway in the fall of 2015. They had three children: Amalia Elise, Audrey Therese, and Lucas Daniel. They eventually moved to France, but that's another story entirely.

We don't know what ever happened to Jay and Daisy Crawford. Google probably does, but Nick and I never cared enough to find out.

And as far as the rest of the Bertram family goes, we didn't have much contact with them. It was unfortunate, but we did what was necessary to protect our family. Nick and Hugo both sent thoughtful notes when their father passed away. And then, they jointly inherited the house at 1814 Maple Crest Drive when Elizabeth Bertram passed away at the age of 90. They sold the house because they viewed it as a museum to what was no longer necessary. And they moved on with their lives, both firmly believing that the past must influence the future but also believing that we cannot ever allow ourselves to become trapped in or consumed by the past.

And they each lived every day of their life with determination and love.

* * *

The End.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading and for reviewing. I appreciate each one of you so much.


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